Seoul: Suspected missile fails after launch near Pyongyang

A man watches television coverage of North Korea&#039;s failed missile launch.

(Image credit: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images)

published 16 March 2022

North Korea fired an "unknown projectile" from an airport near Pyongyang on Wednesday, but it appears to have exploded right after launch, the South Korean military said.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command described the event as a "ballistic missile launch," and South Korea's NK News reports that debris from the failed test fell in and around Pyongyang.

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This year, North Korea has conducted 10 weapons tests, including two of its new intercontinental ballistic missile, Hwasong-17. Reuters reports that launches on Feb. 27 and March 5 did not show the full capabilities of Hwasong-17, and the U.S. and South Korea have both warned that a launch at full range could happen soon.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.