Debris from failed rocket test fall near North Korean capital

NK News reported on images appearing to show debris from a failed North Korean missile test in the Pyongyang area on Wednesday morning.

The information appears to confirm a South Korean statement regarding an attempted launch by the North that took place around 9:30 a.m. local time and ended up “zig-zagging” in the sky above the capital city before falling to the ground.

Witnesses said they heard “loud ‘blowing’ sounds followed by a loud ‘crash'” at the time of the incident.

The site quoted a senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, referring to the crash as a “catastrophic failure” and warning that the “reddish-orange smoke” reported in the incident carries “highly-toxic” materials, dangerous to humans.

The expert voiced fears it had crashed near large population centers in Pyongyang.

Failed missile tests conducted in 2017 had been reported to cause extensive damage in the city of Tokchon.

According to information provided by the South, today’s test was conducted in the same suburb of Pyongyang as the one used in previous intercontinental ballistic missile tests on February 27 and March 5 of this year.

North Korea has been known to conduct extensive testing of its ballistic missile systems in what experts believe are veiled threats to the West and South Korea.