Missile Didn't Explode— It Was a Multiwarhead, Says North Korea

North Korea said Thursday it had successfully tested a multiwarhead missile, a sophisticated weapon coveted by leader Kim Jong Un to overwhelm missile defenses in the continental United States, the AP reports. The launch tested the separation and guidance control of individual mobile warheads to ensure the capability of the Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicle, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said. 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. It was North Korea's first known launch event related to the development of a multiwarhead missile, though outside experts believe it was a preliminary test.

South Korea's military had no immediate response to the North's statement. But a senior analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said it appeared that "South Korea misinterpreted the nature of this test initially." South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff had said Wednesday it suspected the weapon launched by North Korea that day was a solid-fueled hypersonic missile. It said the missile blew up off the North's east coast, scattering fragments in the water. It said it detected more smoke than normal launches, suggesting a possible combustion issue caused by an engine fault.

(More North Korea stories.)