North Korea said it has successfully conducted a missile test to secure multiple warhead capability, state media said Thursday, contradicting South Korea’s military announcement that the test is believed to have ended in failure.

During the test conducted Wednesday, the North’s Missile Administration “successfully conducted the separation and guidance control test of individual mobile warheads,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, adding that the test was meaningful in achieving “the goal of rapidly developing the missile technologies.”

The test used the first-stage engine of an intermediate-range solid-fuel ballistic missile within a 170-200 kilometer radius, which is favorable for ensuring maximum safety and measuring the flight characteristics of individual mobile warheads, the KCNA said.

The separated mobile warheads were guided correctly to three target coordinates, it said.

The effectiveness of a decoy separated from the missile was also verified by anti-air radar, it added.

The test was ov
erseen by Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and Kim Jong-sik, first vice department director of the WPK Central Committee, it said.

The announcement contradicts South Korea’s announcement that the missile exploded in air.

Officials of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched from an area in or around Pyongyang at around 5:30 a.m., but exploded over the East Sea after flying some 250 kilometers.

A military source told Yonhap News Agency that the North could have have test-fired a hypersonic missile.

Source: Yonhap News Agency