...hereditary Communist monarchy distinguished by its truculence and periodic acts of violence. Distinguishing features include Songun (Army First) policy, which involves feeding the army before anyone but the Dear Leadership, and Juche, which is Kim Jong Il's personal interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, which he told everybody was brilliant. In 1950 the industrialized North invaded agrarian South Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force opposing the invasion, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel. Seventy years later the economic results are in and it doesn't look good for Juche...fired an existing intercontinental ballistic missile and not a new one in last week's test launch.
South Korea has negated North Korea's claim that it launched what experts have dubbed its "monster missile" last week.
South Korea's military on Wednesday accused the North of firing a less-powerful existing weapon instead of a newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as Pyongyang had claimed.
Last Thursday, North Korea said it had test fired a Hwasong-17 missile — its longest-range ICBM — in the most significant weapons test in years.
State media in Pyongyang had called the launch "a historical event.''
SEOUL DISMISSES PYONGYANG LAUNCH CLAIMS
Seoul's military has said that, in reality, it was the same ICBM North Korea launched in 2017.
"US and South Korean intelligence has determined that what was fired on March 24 was a Hwasong-15," a defense ministry official told news agency AFP.
South Korea's Defense Ministry said it told a parliamentary committee that the details of Thursday's launch, including the weapon's speed, combustion and stage separation, were similar to those of the Hwasong-15, not the Hwasong-17.
The ministry said the alleged false announcement was likely an attempt by Pyongyang to compensate for a failed Hwasong-17 launch earlier this month.
Acccording to accounts from South Korea, the missile launched from the North's capital region on March 16 went
kaboom!soon after lift off, with residents of Pyongyang witnessing the mid-air blast.
North Korea did not make any comments on the failed launch and state media is yet to respond to Wednesday's report from South Korean defense chiefs.
Since the beginning of the year, North Korea has conducted a flurry of missile tests in an apparent attempt to modernize its military arsenal and increase pressure on the United States amid stalled nuclear talks between the two countries.
| Courtesy of Skidmark: North Korea making preparations for possible nuclear test: defense officials North Korea believed to have faked launch of ‘monster missile’: report |
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