Pyongyang announces the success of a test to develop a multi-warhead missile

North Korea's Central News Agency revealed on Thursday that the country had conducted a successful and important test aimed at developing missiles capable of carrying multiple warheads, but South Korea denied the claim and described it as "misinformation" aimed at covering up a failed launch.

North Korea explained that the test was conducted yesterday, Wednesday, using the first stage engine of a medium-range ballistic missile powered by solid fuel, while the North Korean agency confirmed that the missile succeeded in separating warheads that were directed accurately at three pre-determined targets.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the North Korean missile was launched from an area located in or around Pyongyang at approximately 5:30 am on Wednesday morning (20:30 GMT Tuesday), and that South Korean and American intelligence agencies are conducting a detailed analysis of the operation. Release it.

However, an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul suggested that the test ended in failure after a flight that extended for about 250 kilometers, and smoke was emitted from the missile in a larger amount than usual, which increases the possibility of problems occurring during the combustion process, according to the official, who pointed out that the missile most likely runs on fuel. Steel.

In turn, Tokyo confirmed that North Korea had launched a missile, and the Japanese Coast Guard said that the missile fell into the Sea of ​​Japan, which is also called the East Sea.

However, the North Korean News Agency said Thursday that the test “was carried out using the first stage engine of a medium-range ballistic missile powered by solid fuel within a radius of 170-200 kilometers,” adding that “the effectiveness of a trap separate from the missile was also verified using an anti-aircraft radar.”

This new missile test comes in the midst of increasing tension across the border between the two Koreas, with the isolated communist state launching more balloons loaded with waste into South Korea in response to propaganda balloons launched by the South.