South Korea Doubts North’s Claim of Multiple Warhead Success

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea’s military accused North Korea of using “deception and exaggeration” to cover up a missile that exploded in the early stages of flight on Wednesday.

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North Korea claimed it successfully conducted a test of a multiple warhead missile system as the state tries to meet leader Kim Jong Un’s goal of acquiring technology that could increase his ability to deliver a nuclear strike.

North Korea said the test used the first stage of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, where separated mobile warheads moved to three targets and a decoy was deployed, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Thursday. It also released three photos of the test that showed the missile taking off and the purported deployment of warheads.

South Korea’s military said photos taken by people in the private sector showed the flight was not normal. North Korea appears to have fabricated its photos, Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Lee Sung-jun said in a briefing Thursday.

North Korea may have felt the need to show a successful test after a rocket meant to deploy a satellite blew up in a fireball shortly after it lifted off in late May, Lee said.

North Korea has at times made dubious claims about successes in weapons tests. Kim has set the goal of being able to deploy multiple warheads to hit several targets, making it harder to intercept and more likely at least one can reach its target.

The technology is known as MIRV, or multiple independently targeted re-entry vehicles, and was developed in the 1960s, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

“The development of MIRV technology is not easy,” according to a factsheet on MIRV by the center. “It requires the combination of large missiles, small warheads, accurate guidance, and a complex mechanism for releasing warheads sequentially during flight.”

“It was an obvious technology for them to develop if they had time and resources,” said George William Herbert, an adjunct professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. “It makes each expensive missile able to deliver more warheads and potentially decoys to help warheads get through defenses.”

Russia has had the technology for decades, and the test this week by North Korea increases concerns that deepening military ties between the two countries could involve tech transfers to help Kim’s MIRV program.

Last week, President Vladimir Putin made his first trip to North Korea in 24 years, reaching a deal with Kim for each side to come to the other’s aid if attacked.

The US, South Korea and Japan condemned the pact, calling it a grave concern and a threat to regional security. The US and its partners have accused Kim of sending millions of rounds of munitions to help Putin in his grinding war on Ukraine in return for aid that’s propping up North Korea’s economy and technology that could advance its military.

In 2022, North Korea tried to deceive the world about a test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile that failed in flight, doctoring a video and using it in an attempt to pass off a successful test, South Korea’s military and weapons experts said.

(Updates and recasts with statements from South Korea doubting North’s claims.)

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