• The explosion and subsequent fire panicked and confused residents of the coastal city of Gangneung.
• No injuries were reported from the explosion, which involved a short-range Hyumoo-2 missile.
• South Korea’s military acknowledged the malfunction hours after internet users raised alarm about the blast.

A malfunctioning South Korean ballistic missile exploded as it slammed into the ground Wednesday during a live-fire drill with the US in retaliation for North Korea’s successful launch of a weapon that flew over Japan and has the range to strike the US territory of Guam the day before.

The explosion and subsequent fire terrified and perplexed residents of the coastal city of Gangneung, who were already concerned about rival North Korea’s increasingly provocative weapons tests.

Their fear that it was a North Korean attack grew as the military and government officials refused to explain the explosion for hours.

The explosion involved a short-range Hyumoo-2 missile that crashed inside an air force base on the outskirts of Seoul, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

South Korea’s military acknowledged the malfunction hours after internet users reported the explosion and shared social media videos of an orange ball of flames emerging from an area near the air force base. It stated that it was looking into what caused the missile’s “abnormal flight.”

The joint exercises are being held by the US and South Korean militaries to demonstrate their ability to deter a North Korean attack on the South. They conducted bombing runs by F-15 strike jets using precision munitions and launched two missiles each from the Army Tactical Missile System during Tuesday’s drills.

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The USS Ronald Reagan is scheduled to return to waters east of South Korea on Wednesday, according to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, to demonstrate the allies’ “firm will” to counter the North’s continued provocations and threats. Last week, the carrier participated in drills with South Korea and Japan.

South Korea’s preemptive and retaliatory strike strategies against the North rely heavily on the homegrown Hyumoo-2. Some versions of the missile resemble Russian-designed Iskander missiles, which inspired a localised variant in North Korea as it expands its arsenal of nuclear-capable short-range weapons designed to evade South Korean missile defences.

North Korea’s successful launch of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile hours before the drills was the country’s most provocative weapons display since 2017 and the fifth round of weapons tests in 10 days.

That missile has a range capable of striking Guam, which is home to one of the largest US military bases in Asia. North Korea also tested missiles capable of reaching the continental United States in 2017.

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