According to three US sources, the US intelligence community is attempting to ascertain whether North Korea launched a ballistic missile with qualities the US has never seen before earlier this week.

According to authorities, one of North Korea’s three ballistic missiles launched on Wednesday took an odd trajectory. Two authorities characterised the missile’s flight path as a “double arc,” with the missile ascending and then lowering again.

According to two of the officials, the trajectory might imply that the purpose was to test North Korea’s capacity to fire a missile and have it re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere to reach a target.

A re-entry vehicle breaking away from the primary missile might have been the second phase of the missile’s putative “double arc.” According to one official, the US isn’t sure if it was all part of the intended flight route.

The individuals stressed that the US intelligence assessment of all three test launches is still in the early stages.