South Korea releases video showing North missile exploding in flight

South Korea’s military released a video on Friday that it said showed a North Korean missile spiraling abnormally at the beginning of its flight and exploding, marking a rare release of surveillance footage and contradicting the North’s claims of a successful test.

Thermal imaging footage captured by South Korean front-line units shows the missile flying uncontrollably in an erratic trajectory before disintegrating.

The South Korean military assessed that “in-flight instability” led to the missile’s explosion, it said in a statement on Friday, calling North Korea’s claims of success a “deception and exaggeration intended to conceal failure.”

North Korean state media reported that Pyongyang had successfully conducted a major test on Wednesday aimed at developing missiles capable of carrying multiple warheads, but South Korea rejected the claims.

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‘This is the most tense city’: South Koreans on border with North fear conflict

North Korea’s missile command has used the first-stage engine of a solid-fuel medium-range ballistic missile to test its ability to separate and guide multiple warheads, North Korea’s state news agency KCNA reported.

South Korea’s military said it detected signs of a missile being prepared for launch on Wednesday morning and observed the launch.

In April, Pyongyang announced tests of a new intermediate-range solid-fuel hypersonic missile as part of a growing race to develop a new generation of long-range missiles that are difficult to target and intercept.