SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Thursday it had successfully tested a multiwarhead missile in the first known launch of a developmental weapon coveted by leader Kim Jong Un to overwhelm U.S. and South Korean missile defenses. South Korea quickly dismissed the claim as deception to cover up a failed launch.
North Korea’s state media said the launch Wednesday tested the separation and guidance control of individual mobile warheads to ensure the capability of the Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles. It said the separated warheads “were guided correctly to the three coordinate targets” and a decoy that separated from the missile was verified by radar.
If confirmed, it would be North Korea’s first public launch event related to the development of a multiwarhead missile, though at a preliminary stage.
South Korea’s military said later Thursday that a joint analysis by South Korean and U.S. authorities assessed that the North Korean missile launch failed.
Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung Joon told reporters that the separation of warheads in MIRV tests happens in descending stages but the North Korean missile exploded in the initial stage of its flight. He said North Korean photos of the launch showed a weapon similar to a liquid-fuel Hwasong-17 ICBM that the country test-fired in March 2023.
The South Korean military’s earlier assessment Wednesday was that a suspected solid-fueled hypersonic missile was…
