N. KOREA MISSILE EXPLODES IN TEST FAILURE
Kim talks tough, but N. Korea missile fails
THE LATEST North Korean missile launch ended in failure early Sunday, with the device exploding harmlessly as leader Kim Jong Un flaunted his expanding arsenal.
The unsuccessful launch came from the city of Sinpo in the South Hamkyung Province, near a major submarine base, according to U.S. officials and South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The failed effort came one day after one of North Korea’s biggest annual propaganda parties, marking the 105th birthday of the nation’s late founder Kim Il Sung.
“The President and his military team are aware of North Korea’s most recent unsuccessful missile launch,” U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said in a statement. “The President has no further comment.”
It was unclear what kind of missile was fired, although the launch sent a message that Kim remained committed to developing such weapons despite recent threats from President Trump.
“I have great confidence that China will properly deal with North Korea,” Trump tweeted last Thursday. “If they are unable to do so, the U.S., with its allies, will!”
Vice President Pence arrived in South Korea this weekend, where he was set to attend Easter services with U.S. and South Korean troops.
American military officials believe the launch did not involve an intercontinental missile, according to CNN. But the explosion was likely to rachet up tensions in the region, where the U.S. aircraft carrier Carl Vinson was sent last weekend.
In a Saturday editorial, China’s official news agency Xinhua said the region had reached “a critical moment in history” — and warned a pre-emptive U.S. strike could trigger full-scale war.
It was time for North Korea and the U.S. to strike a “grand bargain,” Xinhua suggested.
Earlier this month, another missile test originating from Sinpo ended with the rocket spinning into the Yellow Sea.
North Korea’s inept nuclear program dates back decades, but Kim is committed to developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.
Prior to the missile mishap, North Korea boldly flexed its military might in a Saturday parade featuring never-before-seen intercontinental ballistic missiles and a massive hybrid rocket dubbed a “frankenmissile.”
The hellish hardware rolled through central Pyongyang with the unhinged Kim looking on proudly.
Thousands of soldiers marching in formation joined the military parade — part of a highly-orchestrated celebration held in honor of North Korea’s founding ruler.
The sophistication of the weaponry, which included tanks, and two types of launchers with massive missile canisters, surprised some military experts.
“We’re totally floored right now,” Dave Schmerler of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, Calif., told The Wall Street Journal. “I was not expecting to see this many new missile designs.”