North Korea launched another ballistic missile
(An undated photo released by KCNA of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.Reuters)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday at approximately at 10:33 p.m. CDT, the US military detected a failed North Korean missile launch near the northwestern city of Kusŏng.
According to the USSTRATCOM statement, the missile is presumed to be a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile and it did not pose a threat to North America.
"We strongly condemn this and North Korea's other recent missile tests," US Navy Commander Gary Ross said in a Pentagon statement. "We intend to raise our concerns at the UN to bolster international resolve in holding the DPRK accountable for these actions."
(A look at North Korea's nuclear facilities and capabilities.Reuters/Amanda Macias/Business Insider)
Based on estimates from the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Musudan missile is speculated to have a range of approximately 1,500 to 2,400 miles, capable of targeting military installations in Guam and Japan.
So far this year, North Korea has conducted seven Musudan missiles tests.
"North Korea can rest assured that it has the undivided attention of its neighbors, who aren't going to take it anymore, "Thomas Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Business Insider.
"What Kim Jong Un may not appreciate fully is that these provocations may prove counterproductive."
And while the Hermit Kingdom's latest launch was declared a failure, Karako emphasizes that the North's defiant missile testing is "no longer something that can be easily dismissed."
"Regardless of the discrete results of this particular test, it signals their continued resolve to get this right, meaning intermediate and longer range missiles. And they will get it right sooner or later, so we'd better be ready," Karako said.
In order to counter North Korean threats, the US agreed to equip South Korea with a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery.
In a move that has the Hermit Kingdom, China, and Russia spooked, South Korea's military will have the unique air-defense system operational by the end of 2017.
NOW WATCH: Meet THAAD: America’s answer to North Korean threats
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