North Korea's fourth Musudan missile launch ends in failure

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• published: 31 May 2016
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北 '무수단' 미사일 네 번째 발사실패…"이동식 발사대서 폭발" Another failure for North Korea. Today, the regime unsuccessfully attempted to fire off a Musudan ballistic missile,... making it four failed launches in under two months. The communist state went ahead with the provocative act despite being under the heaviest international sanctions ever imposed on the regime. Kwon Jang-ho has the details. At 5:20 AM, South Korea time, North Korea launched a mid-range Musudan ballistic missile from its missile testing site in Wonsan on the eastern coast of the peninsula. Seoul's defense ministry later confirmed the launch failed, and although an investigation of the specifics is ongoing, its initial findings suggest the missile exploded on take-off, possibly injuring personnel near the launch site. The Musudan is a ballistic weapon developed by the North that is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. It has a theoretical range of three-to-four-thousand kilometers, making it capable of reaching all of Japan and as far as the U.S. territory of Guam. But since its first attempt to launch the missile last month, the Kim Jong-un regime has had a series of embarrassing failures. So far, four missiles have been launched, all ending in failure. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said it is on alert for signs of any additional missile tests, and is prepared for any future provocations. And the foreign ministry has condemned the launches, saying it is another violation of UN sanctions and cannot be tolerated. Shortly after the South Korean authorities had confirmed the missile launch had failed, there was news the regime's former foreign minister, Ri Su-yong, had gotten on a plane to Beijing with a large group of delegates. This will be the first time a high-ranking North Korean official has made the trip to Beijing since the regime's fourth nuclear test in January. Ri, recently promoted to vice party chairman, is expected to meet with Chinese leaders, but it's unclear whether it was the missile launch that prompted the meeting, and whether it was China that invited the diplomat or it was prearranged. In any case, the international community will be closely watching Beijing's response to North Korea's recent actions. Kwon Jang-ho, Arirang News. Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages Facebook(NEWS): http://www.facebook.com/newsarirang Homepage: http://www.arirang.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/arirangtv Twitter: http://twitter.com/arirangworld Instagram: http://instagram.com/arirangworld