Did N.Korean missile hit own city?

Seoul : North Korea may have accidentally hit one its own cities with a missile, it has been claimed.

Satellite images show damage caused by a failed test launch that struck Tokchon, a city of 200,000 in the interior of Kim Jong-un’s secretive state, according to a US government official.

The Hwasong KN-17 medium-range rocket was fired from Pukchang Airfield in South Pyongan Province, 40 miles north of Pyongyang on April 28 last year, it is claimed.

But it failed shortly after take-off, the Diplomat reports, before crashing down in the Chongsin-dong area of Tokchon, apparently damaging what looks like an agricultural or industrial building.

The unnamed source pointed out where the rocket had landed and Google Earth images taken on May 18 last year, just weeks after the launch, appear to show damage to a greenhouse-style structure at the same spot. 

The official, who is described as having knowledge of North Korea’s weapons programmes, told the Diplomat that the missile’s flight lasted just one minute before suffering engine malfunction and travelling 25 miles northeast before crashing down.

Had it completed its flight without failing, it may have been destined to land in the northern parts of the Sea of Japan, the Diplomat reports. 

There have been no reported deaths as a result of the apparent stray rocket, but the damaged building is close to heavily populated areas. 

In November, North Korea test-fired its most powerful ICBM ever which is likely capable of striking almost anywhere on earth.

Kim Jong-un could be seen walking alongside a huge new mobile launch platform, which Pyongyang said was specifically constructed for the missile, before the rocket was maneuvered into place. 

The Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile was launched eastward from Pyongsong in North Korea’s South Pyongan Province.

It flew for around 50 minutes, reaching an unprecedented altitude of 2,800 miles, before splashing down in the Sea of Japan around 620 miles away.

It marked the first missile launched since one was fired across Japan and into the Pacific Ocean on September 15.