On Wednesday, a Joint Chiefs official explained, “A missile fired from a Gangneung Air Force base toward the East Sea at 11 pm on Tuesday crashed following an abnormal flight shortly after launch,” adding, “The crashed missile landed on a military golf course.”

The military reported no military or civilian casualties due to the missile crash. However, considering that the propellant was found only 700 meters north of a private dwelling, a major accident was narrowly avoided.

Roughly an hour and 50 minutes after the crash, the South Korean and US militaries launched two additional ATACMS missiles early in the morning Wednesday. The commander of the Army Missile Strategic Command, who was at the scene, reported to the Joint Chiefs that the ATACMS launches would still be possible after confirming that everything was safe following the accident. Regarding the missile launch, the Joint Chiefs evaluated, “This has shown we have the ability and readiness to neutralize the source of any provocation by North Korea, no matter where the provocation originates, while also remaining constantly vigilant.”

However, the military did not inform nearby residents of the accident at any point throughout the night. For this reason, locals in Gangneung complained of feeling alarmed by the bright lights and loud sounds, with photos and videos showing the flames making the rounds online. A military official commented, “Prior to the launch, surrounding residents were notified as per usual procedure, but we failed to respond properly to the accident,” adding, “We are deeply regretful that residents were this shocked and alarmed.”

Following this launch in which the missile fell the opposite direction that it was supposed to, confidence in the South Korean military, which had sufficient time to prepare — this launch was conducted 15 hours after North Korea had fired a missile of its own — has been greatly damaged. The South Korean military had previously argued that it could overwhelmingly respond to North Korean threats in times of emergency. Regarding this point, a military official, who declined to comment directly, responded, “We have various weapons systems that can be used as strike assets, so North Korea will by no means surpass us militarily.”

Complete article: https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1061668.html