北 "신형 대구경조종방사포 시험발사"... 軍, '신형 탄도미사일' 평가 유지
North Korea has released a report and photos of the rocket launch that took place yesterday.
It says it tested a new multiple rocket launcher,... not the ballistic missiles the South Korean military thought they were.
Seeing the photos, experts say... that the weapon tested is a multiple rocket launcher.
Oh Jung-hee with more.
North Korea says Wednesday's test was of a "newly developed, large-caliber multiple-launch guided rocket system" an announcement that counters analysis by the South Korean military.
On Thursday, Pyeongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency released a report and photos of Wednesday's test.
The photos are blurred in some parts... but still, the weapon in these photos looks starkly different from the short-range missiles the North launched last week.
We can also see several launch tubes installed on a transporter erector launcher.
"It looks like a multiple rocket launcher, not a missile. Because the photo is blurred, it's difficult to compare this with the 300-millimeter multiple rocket launcher that the North already has. But it seems this one has a bigger diameter at the bottom than the previous one. The North pixelated these photos so as not to reveal the weapon's exact traits."
The North's media says leader Kim Jong-un personally oversaw the test launch.
They added that the system met its test requirements and proved its combat effectiveness.
"Kim Jong-un said the test launch was outstanding and that this should be a worrisome reminder to those who might fall into our crosshairs."
What the North says it fired a multiple launch guided rocket system is not what the South Korean military said it was on the day of the launch.
They said the regime had fired short-range ballistic missiles, but despite the new photos, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff have stuck by their original analysis.
"The intelligence authorities of South Korea and the U.S. see that the projectiles fired yesterday have flight characteristics similar to the new type of short-range ballistic missiles fired last week."
Experts say, multiple rocket launchers and short-range ballistic missiles have similar ranges and trajectories,... and therefore it is possible that the military could have confused the two.
Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff says it's still closely analyzing the the new photos.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.
