North Korea test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile from the East Sea on August 24.
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The increased trade being initiated by China with North Korea is seen by experts as a warning against the South and the US.
“Through the test results [North Korea] has become a premier military power with flawless nuclear strike capability”, Kim reportedly said. But its development of reliable submarine-launched missiles would add a weapon that is harder to detect before launch.
NORTH Korea came under fire yesterday from its Asian neighbours for testing submarine-launched missiles towards Japan.
The US today strongly condemned North Korea’s test firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, describing it as a “provocation” in violation of the UN Security Council resolutions.
North Korea claimed the exercises, which kicked off Monday, were a rehearsal for invading the reclusive state, which was hit by strengthened United Nations punitive measures following its fourth ever nuclear test earlier this year.
South Korean officials say that all previous such missiles North Korea had launched flew only a short distance, too brief to be considered successful.
Pyongyang is believed to be acting in retaliation over joint military drills between its South Korean neighbor and the U.S. which began on Monday.
North Korea is barred under United Nations resolutions from any use of ballistic-missile technology, but Pyongyang has carried out several launches following its fourth nuclear test in January.
Kim’s statement was carried by Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency.
The South Korean government and experts have said the launch shows technical progress in the North’s SLBM programme. The war games are premised on Operational Plans 5015 (OPLAN 5015) adopted last November by Washington and Seoul, which involve pre-emptive strikes on North Korean targets and assassination raids against its top leadership, including Kim Jong-un. It is believed the North obtained several Soviet-era Golf-class ballistic missile submarines in the mid-1990s.
The talks begin as Japan, China and South Korea are themselves at odds over various territorial disputes and a USA missile defence system.
“We all know that on days when North Korea doesn’t test missiles, tensions may be above the surface”, said Scott A. Snyder, senior fellow for Korea studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
The projectile reached Japan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) for the first time, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a briefing, referring to an area of control designated by countries to help maintain air security.
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said the missile launch “simply can not be tolerated”, while Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters on Wednesday that this provocation is “difficult to forgive”.
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Missiles of such capability could also potentially strike parts of Japan, including US military bases on the island of Okinawa, considering the operational range of North Korea’s Sinpo-class submarines, said analyst Kim Dong-yub at Seoul’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies.
