While many of us were surprised by North Korea's missile launch yesterday,... the second such test in less than a week,... the North's state media has said the regime fired a new rocket *system, NOT ballistic missiles.<br />Oh Jung-hee explains.<br />North Korea says it test-fired a "newly-developed, large-caliber multiple-launch guided rocket system" on Wednesday,... countering South Korean military's analysis.<br />On Thursday, Pyeongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency released a report on Wednesday's rocket test.<br />It said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally oversaw the test-firing of a newly-developed multiple rocket launcher.<br />The report added that the system has met its test requirements and proved its combat effectiveness.<br />The KNCA further added... that Kim Jong-un was pleased with the test-launch,... and said the weapon would be a "worrisome reminder" to those who might fall under its crosshairs.<br />The report didn't clarify who that target may be.<br />But speculation is that the North is once again taking aim at South Korea for its joint military exercises with the U.S.,... scheduled for later this month.<br />But unlike last week, Pyeongyang didn't explicitly say that the launch was an intended show of force, instead describing it as a simple test.<br /><br />What the North says it fired a multiple launch guided rocket system is different from the South Korean military's analysis,... which announced that North Korea had fired a short-range ballistic missile,... on the day of the launch on Wednesday.<br />Despite the latest reports from North Korea, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff have stuck by their original analysis.<br /><br />"Intelligence authorities of South Korea and the U.S. see that the projectiles fired yesterday have similar flight characteristics to that of a new type of short-range ballistic missiles fired last week. We are still closely analyzing the data."<br /><br />The multiple rocket launchers and short-range ballistic missiles have similar ranges,... and therefore it is possible that the military could have confused the two.<br />But, the South Korean military's analysis, which could have been wrong, came on the same day Seoul's defense minister showed confidence... that the military has secured high-tech systems to detect and defend against North Korean threats.<br />Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.<br />
