U. S. believes North Korea launched KN-17 missile
The U. S. believes the ballistic missile North Korea launched on Saturday was a KN-17 medium range missile and not a new intermediate range missile, as had been speculated. The launch marked the first successful test of the missile, three previous launches in April had ended in failure.
The initial assessment by U. S. intelligence is that the missile launched by North Korea was a KN-17, a medium range ballistic missile, according to two U. S. officials. The liquid fueled single-stage KN-17 may be intended to be an anti-ship missile.
Launched from Kusong, in western North Korea, the missile flew for 435 miles before landing in the Sea of Japan.
U. S. Pacific Command had said in a statement Saturday that the type of missile launched by North Korea was still being assessed but that it “was not consistent with an intercontinental ballistic missile.”
Saturday’s test marked the first successful flight of the KN-17, three previous launches in April having ended in failure. On its first launch the missile spun out of control into the Sea of Japan after traveling 34 miles, the second missile exploded seconds after launch and the most recent test two weeks ago resulted in the missile breaking up over North Korea after traveling 21 miles.
