But now some analysts are asking: Did North Korea just try to launch two long-range missiles?

“We think it is important that people consider the possibility that this was a KN-08 test,” said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia nonproliferation program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in California, referring to the intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, by its technical name.

North Korea conducted two missile tests earlier this month, on Oct. 9 and 19. Both took place at an air base in Kusong on North Korea’s west coast, on the other side of the country from the usual Musudan test site near Wonsan, on the east coast.

The United States Strategic Command said both tests were “presumed” to be of Musudan missiles, and South Korean military officials have said the same. The Musudan is technically capable of flying as far as 2,400 miles, putting Guam within range and almost reaching Alaska.