South Korea on Friday unveiled photos of a 14.5-meter section of the North Korean missile, which crashed shortly after launch on May 31. The South Korean military reports that the wreckage – found at a depth of about 70 meters – is probably part of the center section of the missile, which never ignited.
New engine
North Korea previously claimed that the center section contained a new engine. Experts believe the combination of the new engine and a “very unstable fuel” caused the failure. The South Korean discovery is likely to reveal more about the engine’s design and how North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un avoided gun sanctions.
“Anyone who has access to the component and also knows something about rockets should be able to extract the desired technical data,” said aeronautical engineer Markus Schiller of Germany’s ST Analytics. “It should also become clearer about North Korea’s manufacturing capabilities.”