South Korea says North faked launch of long-range 'monster' missile

South Korea claimed that the North faked the launch of the long-range missile last week, saying the test was likely the same intercontinental ballistic missile fired in 2017.

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.