[사진= YTN 캡쳐]
South Korea on Tuesday expressed doubt over North Korea's ability to produce a useful intercontinental ballistic missile after tracking its latest rocket launch.
North Korea's rocket launches are seen as crucial steps toward Pyongyang's ultimate goal of a nuclear-armed missile capable of reaching the US mainland.
Pyongyang celebrated the successful launch of its Kwangmyongsong-4 carrier rocket with a fireworks display Monday night.
The Kwangmyongsong-4 is now in orbit along with the rocket's third stage, but South Korea's defense ministry said in a report that it's not clear whether the satellite is working properly.
The satellite has been rotating around Earth but it may not keep its orbit after all.
Through its Kwangmyongsong program which began in 1998, North Korea is probably capable of launching a missile with a range of 12,000 kilometers, it said.
But North Korea has yet to master technology needed to bring a launched missile back into the atmosphere, the ministry said..
An intercontinental missile capable of delivering a payload needs to be able to reenter the atmosphere without breaking up.
The rocket fired on Sunday was similar to the Unha-3 used in 2012 in every way, and the only difference is the weight of its payload, the ministry said.
South Korea retrieved debris of the Unha-3 from the ocean in 2012.
This time, however, the first stage of the rocket exploded in mid-air, meaning there’s not much debris to collect. South Korean officials have said the explosion was probably intentional.
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reporter
Park Sae-jin
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