- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
- Macron to host Ukraine's Zelensky after meeting Ukrainian troops
- Root says 'many more to get' after England Test runs landmark
- India pile up World Cup high to rout Sri Lanka
- One year later, Israeli hostage family learns of loss
- Texans receiver Collins, Pats' safety Peppers out for NFL clash
- Biden-Netanyahu talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- Musk's X available again in Brazil after 40-day ban
- Reddy stars as India crush Bangladesh to clinch T20 series
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
- Arch rivals Ghana, Nigeria drawn together in CHAN qualifying
- AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins
- Trump lauds India's Modi as 'total killer'
- Wall Street, Europe rise as Chinese shares tumble
- Hunkering down for Hurricane Milton at Disney -- but first, a few rides
- Reddy, Rinku power India to 221-9 in second Bangladesh T20
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
South says North Korea faked launch of so-called 'monster' missile
North Korea faked the launch of what analysts have dubbed its "monster missile" last week, Seoul's military said Wednesday, adding that the test was, in reality, likely the same intercontinental ballistic missile Pyongyang fired in 2017.
North Korea last Friday claimed to have successfully test-fired a Hwasong-17 missile -- a long-range ICBM that analysts say may be capable of carrying multiple warheads -- which it first unveiled at a military parade in 2020.
But South Korea's defence ministry told AFP that Seoul and Washington have now concluded that the launch was actually of a Hwasong-15, an ICBM that Pyongyang test-fired in 2017.
"US and South Korean intelligence has determined that what was fired on March 24 was a Hwasong-15," the defence ministry official told AFP.
Both ICBMs are potentially capable of hitting the mainland United States.
Seoul and Tokyo had separately confirmed at the time that the March 24 missile had flown higher and longer than any previous test -- but analysts later pointed to discrepancies in North Korea's account.
The false announcement was likely an attempt by Pyongyang to compensate for a failed launch on March 16, when a missile, which analysts said was actually the Hwasong-17, exploded shortly after launch.
According to Seoul-based specialist website NK News, debris from the failed test fell in or near Pyongyang as a red-tinged ball of smoke zigzagged across the sky.
"Pyongyang residents must have been shocked" by the failed launch, and it may have affected public opinion of the Kim regime, lawmaker Ha Tae-keung of the conservative opposition People's Power Party (PPP), told reporters.
North Korea's state media -- Rodong Sinmun and KCNA news agency -- did not report on the failed launch at the time.
They typically carry reports on successful weapons tests within 24 hours of launch, often with photographs.
But the March 24 launch was trumpeted in state media, with KCTV releasing a slick video purportedly showing the giant missile being successfully test-fired.
Analysts have pointed out discrepancies in the footage which may indicate parts of the March 24 launch were faked.
- 'Propaganda value' -
The isolated country's economy is reeling from UN sanctions over leader Kim Jong Un's weapons programs and a two-year-long self-imposed Covid blockade.
"Not only does the Kim regime derive pride and legitimacy from its nuclear and missile programs, it portrays building military strength against external threats as moral justification for domestic economic suffering," Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, told AFP.
The "successful" launch as portrayed in state-controlled media has significant "propaganda value" for the Kim regime, he added.
Analysts have warned that North Korea will likely launch a military reconnaissance satellite and conduct tactical nuclear warhead tests later this year.
On Monday, Pyongyang's state media reported that its leader Kim Jong Un had vowed to build up "overwhelming" and unstoppable military power.
C.Garcia--AMWN