North Korea's state media remained silent on Thursday after a suspected missile test ended in total failure, with the missile exploding mid-air in the skies over Pyongyang practically immediately after launch, according to Seoul.
Early Wednesday, the North test-fired what was most certainly a ballistic missile from the Sunan neighborhood of the city, which is home to over 3 million people.
The projectile detonated shortly after launch, with debris falling in or near Pyongyang as a red-tinged ball of smoke zigzagged across the sky, NK News reported.
North Korea's state media, Rodong Sinmun and the KCNA news agency, usually declare successful weapons tests within 24 hours of their launch, often with photos.
However, state media made no mention of the test, which was the tenth this year in the face of harsh penalties.
"North Korea is continuously spreading the illusion that its rulers are doing an excellent job. They don't want to draw attention to any errors," Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the private Sejong Institute, said.
North Korea is reportedly preparing to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at full range for the first time since 2017, possibly under the guise of a space launch, according to the United States and South Korea.
In April, North Korea will commemorate the 110th anniversary of the birth of its founder, Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un.
The silence on the missile test failure, human rights groups said, shows how carefully North Koreans' lives are controlled.
"Imagine our newsfeeds - overflowing with video, photographs, and eyewitness stories if it were London, Istanbul, or Seoul," Sokeel Park of Liberty in North Korea remarked on Twitter.
"However, because it happened in Pyongyang, there isn't a SINGLE public image or video. In 2022, there will be a complete visual blackout for a massive explosion in the sky above an Asian center," Park said.
Analysts believe Pyongyang's failed test on Wednesday was of its so-called "monster missile," the Hwasong 17, a new ICBM system that has never been deployed.
Pyongyang conducted a series of prohibited military experiments in 2022, including seven missile tests and two launches of "reconnaissance satellites."
Last Monday, both South Korea and the United States confirmed that the "satellite" tests were actually of a new ICBM system.
