KCNA said Kim Jong Un oversaw a Saturday launch that it claimed flew 1,000 km, while South Korea assessed a flight of more than 700 km.
North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile on Saturday in a drill overseen by Kim Jong Un, state media KCNA said on Sunday, Reuters reported from Seoul. KCNA said the missile was launched from the east of the country and hit a target 1,000 kilometres offshore in the sea east of North Korea.
The state report said the drill trained troops on a hypersonic strategic weapon system and checked reliability, efficiency and mobility. South Korea's military said on Saturday it detected a ballistic missile and assessed that it flew more than 700 kilometres toward the sea off the east coast. The two distance figures were not reconciled in the Reuters account.
Kim Yo Jong said South Korea and Japan failed to track the flight and cited a wave-like trajectory mode. Reuters reported that claim without independent confirmation. She also said artificial intelligence was used to change the missile's low-altitude orbit, a statement carried by other outlets and not verified by Seoul in the Reuters report.
KCNA said Kim told the force to keep working so adversaries would recognise the reliability of its strategic weapons, and that the nuclear deterrent remained essential. The launch photo released with the report came from KCNA.
Seoul had not published a further technical assessment in the Sunday Reuters story. The gap between the 1,000-kilometre KCNA figure and the South Korean estimate of more than 700 kilometres remained unresolved.
People Sentiments Negative
- Kim Yo Jong said South Korean and Japanese tracking failed after the first skip point.
- South Korea's military reported a detected launch of more than 700 km.