North Korea's Missile Tests Show Real Progress

North Korea's latest missile tests indicate the Kim Jong Un government is continuing to advance its ballistic missile technology, in defiance of United Nations sanctions. 

Pyongyang conducted its fifth and sixth test of the intermediate-range Musudan missile on Wednesday from the coastal city of Wonsan. U.S. and South Korean military officials said the first missile failed shortly after it was launched but the second missile flew approximately 400 kilometers before falling into the Sea of Japan or East Sea as it called in South Korea.

The last missile tested did not reach the 3,000-kilometer distance the Musudan is designed for, to potentially reach U.S. military bases in Asia and the Pacific. It apparently also did not demonstrate the atmospheric re-entry capability needed to accurately hit a target.  But analysts said North Korea continues to learn from each failure and is making advancements with each new test.

“This is a very important milestone because the previous launches had blown up either very shortly after launch or possibly even right at launch. So this is a real sign of progress,” said Jeffrey Lewis, the director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California.

The multiple missile tests, Lewis said, also indicates that international sanctions have so far not affected North Korea’s ability to acquire the material and technology needed to manufacture these weapons.

According to South Korean media, North Korea is believed to have up to 30 Musudan missiles, which officials said were first deployed around 2007.  The first Musudan test occurred in April of this year.