The attempted launch of a missile — which blew up almost immediately, the U.S. military said — followed a dizzying display of North Korea’s weaponry during a military parade honoring the birth of the state’s founder. But despite the failed launch, the arsenal illustrated Kim Jong Un’s resolve to develop a missile capable of reaching the United States. The timing of the failed ballistic missile launch was an embarrassment for Kim Jong-un, because it appeared to have been intended to coincide with the approach of a fleet of American warships.
Analysts were stunned by the range of apparently new missiles on display, and the sheer number of them.