DPRK Weekend Missile Launch
February 10, 2015
On Sunday February 8, North Korea launched five missiles into the East Sea (Sea of Japan) from its east coast near the port city of Wonsan. Press reports say that the missiles were fired in a northeastern direction for about 50 minutes in succession from 4:20PM local time and the approximate range of the missiles was 200 kilometers (124 miles). What's the takeaway:
- North Korea’s state-run news outlet called the missile an “ultra-precision anti-ship rocket," but experts think this looks like a Russian anti-ship missile.
- Whether the North reverse-engineered the missiles, or they were supplied by the Russians, the integration of this into the North's military would suggest a substantial upgrade in their threat to U.S., ROK, and Japanese ships in the area.
- Sunday's test marks the North’s second missile launch in 2015, following the tests on the previous Friday.
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