19 April 2017

News Story: Analysts try to identify N.Korean failed missile type

By Thomas WATKINS

The latest North Korean missile launch may have been of a new and hitherto unknown system being developed by Kim Jong-Un's regime, a weapons expert said Monday.

The Pentagon has not discussed which missile blew up "almost immediately" after launch early Sunday from near Sinpo on the North's east coast, and the White House has said only that it was a medium-range device.

John Schilling, a weapons expert with the 38 North monitoring group, said the launch failure was indicative of a new systems test.

"The discussion of it failing very early in launch, that's a common failure mode for North Korean missiles very early on in their development cycle when they are working out the bugs in the propulsion and guidance system," Schilling told AFP.

"More detail would always be nice. But I am going to suspect that this was a new missile or certainly one that has not been well-developed."

Read the full story at SpaceDaily