The test came just days after North Korea threatened a pre-emptive nuclear strike against South Korean and U.S. forces who kicked off their annual Ulchi Freedom military drills on Monday.
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The test came just two days after South Korea and the US kicked off joint Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) military drills on Monday, which will last until September 2.
Top leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un has recently guided a successful test-firing of a strategic submarine-launched ballistic missile “Pukguksong”, the official news agency KCNA reported Thursday.
The United States described the submarine missile test as a “provocative destabilizing” action by the Kim Jong-un-led North Korean regime.
According to a statement made by the South Korean military, the missile, launched from near Sinpo, a submarine base, flew 310 miles toward Japan.
North Korean strategists believe that developing nuclear weapons and a reliable arsenal of long-range missiles is necessary and, in the end, a more cost-effective means of keeping Washington at bay and the ruling regime secure than maintaining a large conventional army.
He said South Korea should “wake up and kick the Americans out”.
Kim criticized South Korea and the United States for rattling North Korean nerves and warned that his regime is prepared to “deal merciless blows at them with nuclear hammers of justice so that nails of injustice may not come out again, once an opportunity is given”. Beijing warned against the USA move at recent U.N. Security Council talks. Kim “strongly” warned the USA and South Korea from “hurting the dignity and security of North Korea” if they want to avoid military strikes against them.
State broadcaster Korean Central Television aired footage of the Wednesday launch on Thursday, showing the missile taking-off from various angles for about two minutes.
A proven SLBM system would take North Korea’s nuclear strike threat to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a “second-strike” capability in the event of an attack on its military bases.
The military has also clearly been trying to advance its ballistic missile program, conducting a series of land- and sea-based tests over the a year ago.
“We call on North Korea to refrain from actions that further raise tensions in the region and focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its commitments and worldwide obligations”, Ross said.
Encouraged by the success of Wednesday’s test, Kim has called on individuals involved in national defense science “to put increased spurs to mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles” in order to deal with the possibility of an “unpredicted total war and nuclear war with the US imperialists”. The projectile flew more than 18 miles before it exploded in midair.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the launch an “impermissible and outrageous act” that poses a grave threat to Japan.
South Korean police officers wearing gas masks conduct an anti-terror drill as part of Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, at Yoido Subway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016.
North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons development programs have brought heavy global sanctions down on its head, but it says they are justified because of the threat posed by the US and South Korea. The South Korean government and experts said the launch showed technical progress in the North’s SLBM program. Its longer distance puts all of South Korea within its range if it is fired near the border.
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The three countries have quarreled on a number of issues, and their foreign ministers’ meetings resumed only last year after a two-year hiatus because of strained Chinese-Japanese relations.
