North Korean media on Thursday (March 17th) silenced Pyongyang’s firing of a missile the day before, which Seoul said exploded over the capital shortly after launch. North Korea fired a ballistic missile from near Pyongyang on Wednesday morning, according to the South Korean military, but the test ended in total failure. The Seoul-based NK News site specializing in North Korea reported debris falling in or near Pyongyang, as a ball of red smoke zigzagged across the sky.
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Usually North Korean state media – the daily Rodong Sinmun and the KCNA news agency – publish articles about successful weapons tests within 24 hours of launch, often accompanied by photographs. On Thursday, they made no mention of the previous day’s test, which was the tenth launch so far this year. “North Korea constantly praises the leaders for their excellent work. They don’t want to highlight failures.”Cheong Seong-chang, a researcher at the private Sejong Institute, told AFP.
South Korea and the United States claimed last week that Pyongyang was preparing to launch a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-17, dubbed the “monster missile” by military analysts. North Korea will celebrate the 110th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the regime’s founder, on April 15. Many analysts expect a missile launch on this occasion. Some even suggest that the missile that exploded on Wednesday was a Hwasong-17. “The country wants to keep its festive atmosphere until April 15 (…) and leaders don’t want ordinary citizens to know about such news.”said Cheong Seong-chang.
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Human rights activists say the silence around the failed launch shows how tightly controlled the lives of North Koreans are. “If this was London, Istanbul or Seoul, imagine our newsfeeds – filled with videos, images and eyewitness accounts”tweeted Sokeel Park of the organization Liberty in NK. “But it was Pyongyang, so there is not ONE public image or video. A complete visual blackout for a huge explosion in the sky of an Asian capital”.