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North Korea fired another short-range ballistic missile this afternoon (23rd).

Earlier, after North Korea released crude satellite photos of Seoul, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport released clear satellite photos of Pyongyang, and there are also observations that this may be related.



Kim Tae-hoon is a defense reporter.



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At 4:32 pm today, two ballistic missiles rose from the Sunan area of ​​Pyongyang.



The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the two missiles flew 250 km and 350 km, respectively, in the northeast direction and fell into the East Sea.



Our military sees it as a new solid fuel engine short-range ballistic missile.



The Ministry of Defense of Japan raised the possibility of the missile's irregular maneuver, saying that the flight distance is about 300 km at an altitude of about 50 km.



Summarizing the initial analysis of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Japanese Ministry of Defense, today's missile appears to be a North Korean version of Iskander capable of irregular maneuvers with a flight range of around 350 km.



However, South Korean and US intelligence authorities are known to be conducting additional analysis, leaving open the possibility of other short-range missiles such as the North Korean version of A-Tax and super-large multiple rocket launchers.



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Today's missile launch comes five days after North Korea launched a ballistic missile that it claimed to be a 'reconnaissance satellite carrier'.



In our evaluation that the North Korean reconnaissance satellite picture is poor, there are observations that it is a reaction to our side's harsh criticism because the ballistic missile was fired three days after Kim Yeo-jeong, Vice Minister of the Workers' Party of Korea, made a lasting statement.



Also, yesterday, a clear satellite picture taken by Korea's land satellite No. 1 of the Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang was released, which touched North Korea's heart.



It is also interpreted as a provocation in response to the joint training conducted by the US strategic assets, the B-52 strategic bomber and the F-22 fighter, near Jeju Island on the 20th.



(Video editing: Jeong Seong-hoon, CG: Seo Dong-min)