After what North Korea claimed was the successful test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile on Wednesday, Pyongyang is on track to develop the capability to strike targets in the region, including Japan, by 2020, given the speed of its development, according to a website run by a US research institute.
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In a direct jab at Seoul and Washington, which are holding a 12-day joint military exercise, Kim warned them to refrain “from hurting the dignity and security of the DPRK with prudence and self-control”, and warned that “rash acts will only precipitate their self-destruction”.
North Korea leader Kim Jong Un boasted about “the greatest success” of a ballistic missile launched from a submarine this week, which appeared to be a major technological breakthrough for the nuclear-armed nation. One of the seven photos shows Kim using binoculars to view the missile taking-off.
In February, Kim released video footage purportedly showing a rocket launch, which he deemed a “complete success”, saying the reason for the blastoff was for “peaceful purposes”.
The test launch is believed to be part of North Korea’s SLBM development project, which North Korea has pushed ahead with during a time of faltering cooperation between its neighbors in Northeast Asia because of the conflict over the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system.
The launch, apparently of a KN-11 or “North Star” missile, contravenes U.N. resolutions and was roundly condemned by Japan, South Korea and China, as well as by the United States and the United Nations.
Hideshi Takesada, a professor at Takushoku University who is an expert on North Korea, said it is possible North Korea’s SLBMs already have a range of 3,000 km, based on Wednesday’s test, but merely adjusted the flight range to about 500 km for demonstration purposes.
North Korea said this year it had miniaturized a nuclear warhead to fit on a ballistic missile. The KCNA reported that the test was conducted “under a high-angle fire system in the maximum launching depth”, which it said “reconfirmed the stability of the underwater ballistic launching system”.
It was speculated that the North used a higher angle to shorten the missile’s range and not provoke Japan.
North Korea has conducted a spate of military technology tests this year, including a fourth nuclear test in January and numerous ballistic missile launches, in defiance of UN Security Council sanctions that were tightened in March. Such missiles have to leave the earth’s atmosphere and re-enter it. It flew an estimated 500 kilometers (310 miles) toward the seas around Japan, the longest distance it has yet achieved in a submarine launch.
The event prompted the UN Security Council to convene an emergency meeting late Wednesday in NY, during which its members explored issuing a statement condemning the provocation. But no such statement was adopted because China, a permanent member, did not agree.
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But the Security Council failed to condemn the move after China sought to include language in a statement opposing the THAAD missile defence system that the United States plans to deploy in South Korea. The U.S. Strategic Command statement said the launch did not pose a threat to North America, but the U.S. military “remains vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations”.
