North Korea confirms submarine-launched missile test
A new submarine-launched ballistic missile is seen during a test in this undated photo released on October 19, 2021 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
KCNA
North Korea has confirmed it has tested a newly developed new submarine-launch missile - the first such weapons test in two years.
Pyongyang said the test will bolster its military's underwater operational capability.
The test on Tuesday was the fifth missile launch since September and came as North Korea heaped pressure on the US and South Korea to abandon what Pyongyang sees as hostile polices such as joint US-South Korea military drills and international sanctions on the North.
A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
Denis Balibouse
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said the latest test “will greatly contribute to putting the defense technology of the country on a high level and to enhancing the underwater operational capability of our navy”.
It said the new missile has introduced advanced control guidance technologies including flank mobility and gliding skip mobility. South Korea on Tuesday said they detected the North’s missile firing and said the weapon landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
Seoul’s military described the missile as a short-range, submarine-launched ballistic missile and said the launch was made from waters near the eastern port of Sinpo, where North Korea has a major shipyard building submarines.