DPRK Fires Rodong Ballistic Missile into East Sea (updated)

Graphic illustrating the DPRK’s three ballistic missile launches during March (Photo: Yonhap Graphic).

A Rodong (Nodong) medium-range ballistic missile was fired from Sukch’o’n County, South P’yo’ngan Province, and landed in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) at 5:50 AM KST on March 18 (Friday).  Another missile may have been fired exploded in mid-air after flying 17 km (10.5 miles), which would put it somewhere west of Sunch’o’n and north of P’yo’ngso’ng.  ROK sources believe that the missiles were fired from a transporter-erector-launcher [TEL].  This would mark the second mobile missile launch by the DPRK within a week following a mobile missile drill in which two missiles were launched from outside Sariwo’n, North Hwanghae Province on March 10, later implicitly identified as a SPOD [sea port of debarkation] test in state media reporting.  Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) was not observed to have attended today’s  (March 18) missile launch.