North Korea's missile test disputed by South Korea as failure

North Korea announced that it conducted a successful test of intermediate-range ballistic missiles carrying multiple warheads, which are guided to separate targets. In response, Seoul stated that Pyongyang's statement is "a deception to cover up a failure."

During the test conducted on Wednesday, the military "successfully conducted the separation and guidance control test of individual maneuvering warheads," reported the regime's KCNA news agency. The dispatch added that "the separated maneuverable warheads were correctly guided to three coordinated targets."

"The test aims to confirm MIRV capability," which is a system of a ballistic missile that carries multiple warheads, then places each of them on a ballistic course leading to different targets.

In a statement, KCNA quoted military officials who noted that strengthening "MIRV capability is a very important technological task in the field of defence and the top priority of the Central Committee" of the army, implying that it could also be the highest priority for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

On Friday, June 28, the South Korean military released footage that, according to their analysis, shows a North Korean missile spinning abnormally at the start of its flight and then exploding. The film is intended to refute Pyongyang's claims of a successful test.

According to Reuters, the footage shot by a thermal imaging device involving South Korean military units shows a missile moving on an irregular flight path and getting out of control, then breaking apart.

In a Friday statement, the South Korean military assessed that "instability during flight" led to the missile's explosion, calling North Korea's claims of success "a deception to cover up failure."

In April, Pyongyang reported that it tested a new solid-fuel hypersonic missile with medium range, which is part of intensifying the arms race for the next generation of long-range missiles, which are difficult to trace and intercept.