Anchor: The South Korean military has been criticized for detecting North Korea’s latest missile test-fire as late as two minutes after it was launched. The location from where the military believed the missile was launched was also incorrect, as new North Korean video and photographs showed that the launch site was in Anju, not Pukchang as Seoul had initially announced.
Kim Bum-soo has more.
 
Report: North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) disclosed a photo on Monday showing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observing the test of a Pukguksong-2 medium-range ballistic missile carried out on Sunday.
 
Analysis of the photo revealed detailed test information written on a map lying in front of Kim, which named Anju  in South Pyongan Province as the venue of the test.
 
The South Korean military had initially said the North test-launched the Pukguksong-2 from Pukchang in the same province.
 
The precise latitude and longitude of the test venue, 39° 37' and 125° 48', also correspond with the spatial information of Anju.
 
When entered into Google Earth the coordinates showed the same lake and field that can be seen in a video released by North Korea.
 
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) said the missile was launched in Pukchang, but the test venue was actually 19 kilometers away.
 
The Korea Defense and Security Forum's Shin Jong-woo said the South Korean military barked up the wrong tree.
 
[Sound bite: Shin Jong-woo - Secretary General, the Korea Defense and Security Forum (Korean)]
“If we do not know from where the North launches a missile using a mobile launcher, we can’t destroy the mobile launcher even if it carries out additional attacks against us.”
 
The revelations come as the South Korean military was criticized for not detecting the North’ latest missile launch until it had completed the second-stage separation two minutes after its launch.
 
Experts pointed out that given that North Korea can reach the whole South Korean territory within three or four minutes after launching a missile, the South Korean military in effect failed to detect the regime’s latest missile-launch.
 
Some critics are even questioning the efficiency of Seoul’s Kill Chain preemptive missile system.
 
In response to the criticism, the Ministry of National Defense explained that it announced Pukchang as the test venue because it is North Korea’s original missile test-launch site, adding that the South Korean military was closely watching the North’s latest missile test. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.
 

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