NKorea ‘fails’ with missile launch on key anniversary

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

North Korea’s Day of the Sun celebrations have been at least partly clouded by a failed missile launch, according to South Korea’s military Friday.
April 15 -- what would have been the 104th birthday of late founder Kim Il-sung -- is a national holiday in the North, and Seoul officials had already highlighted the date as a likely occasion for a provocation of some kind.
“North Korea seems to have tried a missile launch from the East Sea area in the early morning today, but it is presumed to have failed,” the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced. Sources cited by local news agency Yonhap suggest that the projectile in question was the North’s untested Musadan ballistic missile.
Although the Musadan is believed to have a range that extends up to 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) to include the American territory of Guam, the JCS reported that the missile veered off its expected trajectory.
The White House strongly condemned the North's "provocative act", while stressing Washington's commitment to its allies in South Korea and Japan."As it relates to the threat to U.S. interests, we're obviously keenly aware of that as well," spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters, but stressed, "we do have the capabilities necessary to protect the United States."
North Korea has for years threatened to strike the U.S. and its ally South Korea, but Pyongyang’s aggressive rhetoric intensified after the country’s fourth ever nuclear test in January and subsequent long-range rocket launch -- which were met with toughened United Nations sanctions.
The North risks further punitive measures by continuing to develop ballistic missile technology, while a fifth nuclear test would almost certainly lead to greater isolation.

Meanwhile, Pyongyang’s state media focused on tributes that were apparently pouring in even from abroad to honor the legacy of Kim Il-sung, who passed away in 1994.
His grandson and current leader Kim Jong-un made a customary visit to Pyongyang’s Kumsusan Palace of the Sun early Friday, based on a report out of North Korea’s official KCNA news agency.

Seoul’s military has been watching for any signs of further provocations, as officials are also wary that the North is trying to show its strength for domestic reasons going into next month’s first ruling party congress in nearly four decades.

Kim Jong-un is in his fifth year in charge of the authoritarian state and many Pyongyang watchers believe he is still in the process of consolidating his position following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, at the end of 2011.

Anadolu Agency reporter Michael Hernandez contributed to this story from Washington