Seoul (TIP): A North Korean missile fired from its capital region exploded in mid-air in an apparent failed launch on March 16, South Korea‘s military said, amid speculation that the North could soon launch its biggest long-range missile in its most significant provocation in years. Details of the missile explosion weren’t immediately known. But the launch, the 10th of its kind this year, shows North Korea is determined to press ahead on its push to modernize its weapons arsenal and pressure its rivals into making concessions amid dormant denuclearization talks. The North Korean missile blew up while it was flying at an altitude of about 20 kilometres (12.4 miles), a South Korean military official said requesting anonymity because he wasn’t publicly authorized to speak to media on the issue. He said the cause of the explosion wasn’t known. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff earlier said in a statement that the launch made from the Pyongyang region around 9.30 am apparently failed. It said South Korean and US intelligence authorities were analyzing details of the launch.

The US Indo-Pacific Command later said that North Korea fired a ballistic missile but didn’t say whether it was a failed launch. A command statement said the launch didn’t pose an immediate threat to US territory and its allies but called on North Korea to refrain from further destabilizing acts. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary HirokazuMatsuno told reporters that a flight of a ballistic missile has not been confirmed and that Tokyo is working with Washington and Seoul to further analyze what happened.

Experts say past failures still have moved North Korea closer to its goal of acquiring a viable nuclear arsenal that could threaten the American homeland. The US and South Korean militaries said last week that North Korea had tested an ICBM system in two recent launches, referring to the developmental Hwasong-17 missile that North Korea unveiled during a military parade in October 2020.

In the two recent launches on February 27 and March 5, the North Korean missiles flew medium-range distances, and experts have said North Korea could eventually perform a full-range ICBM test.

The North has said it tested cameras and other systems for a spy satellite and released what it said were photos taken from space during one of the two tests, but it didn’t confirm what rocket or missile it launched. Observers say North Korea aims to boost its ICBM capability while trying to place its first functioning spy satellite into orbit. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has vowed to acquire an improved ICBM and a spy satellite among an array of sophisticated weapons systems.  (AP)