Wednesday's test was the North's first weapons launch since it fired nuclear-capable multiple rocket launchers to simulate a preemptive attack on South Korea almost a month ago. / Photo: AFP
The separated mobile warheads"were guided correctly to the three coordinate targets," and a decoy that separated from the missile was verified by radar, it said. "I had been anticipating a MIRV test for some time now, as this was one of the last remaining items on Kim Jong-un's modernisation wish list from the 8th Party Congress back in January 2021," said Ankit Panda, a senior analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff had said on Wednesday it suspected the weapon launched by North Korea was a solid-fueled hypersonic missile. It said the missile blew up off the North's east coast, scattering fragments in the water.