SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean ballistic missile malfunctioned and crashed into the ground during a live-fire drill with the United States, panicking confused residents of a coastal city already uneasy over increasingly provocative weapons tests by rival North Korea.
The sound of the blast and subsequent fire on Tuesday night led many in Gangneung to believe it could be a North Korean attack, concern that only grew as the military and government officials provided no explanation about the explosion for hours.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday that there were so far no reports of any injuries from the accident, which involved a short-range Hyumoo-2 ballistic missile that crashed into the ground inside an air force base near the city.