North Korea's launch of a Taepodong-2 ballistic missile ended in failure, even though Pyongyang counted it as a success along with the test-firing of six other shorter-range missiles, a top Defense Agency official said Thursday.
Although Pyongyang announced that all seven launches Wednesday succeeded, the Defense Agency pondered ways Pyongyang might have shortened the flying time of the Taepodong-2, whose reported range of up to 6,000 km could put the U.S. mainland within its reach, and concluded it did not use any of those options, including aborting the missile in flight.
While the agency drew no conclusions, their deductions imply that a successful launch would have sent the Taepodong-2 closer toward the United States, because Alaska would be within its range.