Early Friday, North Korea tried to launch a medium-range ballistic missile. It was a failure. Friday is the "Day of the Sun" holiday, celebrating the birthday of DPRK founder Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un. Analysts attributed the failed launch to both an attempted show of patriotic force on the holiday and an act of defiance against United Nations Security Council sanctions. "The firing of a mid-range ballistic missile on Friday by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), though failed, marks the latest in a string of saber-rattling that, if unchecked, will lead the country to nowhere," said China's official Xinhua news agency. "Nuclear weapons will not make Pyongyang safe."
The suspected Musudan missile is supposed to have a range of 1,800 miles. "Timing wise, today's missile was a cannon salute on the Day of the Sun, leading up to the party congress," retired South Korean Gen. Chang Gwang-il tells Reuters, "but now that it has failed, it is an embarrassment." Peter Weber
The Week
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