Sino-Japanese tensions over a territorial dispute have risen this month, while China and South Korea have sparred over the planned deployment in the latter country of a United States anti-missile system.
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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – A ballistic missile fired from a North Korean submarine on Wednesday flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles), the longest distance achieved by the North for such a weapon, Seoul officials said, putting all of South Korea, and possibly parts of Japan, within its striking distance.
The launch took place at 5:30 a.m. local time, according to a statement from the South Korean Foreign Ministry.
The apparent success on Wednesday indicated “an upgrade in the level of threat” by the North and its efforts to “diversify means of threat”, said Lee Ho-ryung, research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.
North Korea usually responds to the regular South Korea-U.S. military drills with weapons tests and fiery warlike rhetoric.
“This poses a grave threat to Japan’s security, and is an unforgivable act that damages regional peace and stability markedly”, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters, adding that Japan had lodged a stern protest.
The missile was sacked at a high angle, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported, an indication that its full range would be 1,000km at an ordinary trajectory. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff noted the launch violated U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban any ballistic missile activities by North Korea.
Dr. Daniel A. Pinkston, a professor at Troy University, told CNN the fact that the rocket traveled as far as it did suggests the North Koreans are “making quite rapid progress, and probably more rapid progress than any people had predicted”. Japan’s Cabinet approved details of the provision, to be provided to the women through a South Korean organization launched last month, ahead of Japan-South Korea talks.
“Though it is premature to jump to a conclusion based on a single launch success, the pace at which the North is improving its SLBM capability is faster than we thought”, noted the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Many outside experts say the North doesn’t yet have a reliable long-range nuclear missile capable of reaching the continental US, but they acknowledge the North has been making steady progress on its weapons programs and could one day acquire such a weapon. Dave Benham, a spokesman for US Pacific Command.
“He also claimed that the three states have “reconfirmed” their common recognition on zero-tolerance on the North’s nuclear armament”, in a bid to dismiss skepticism on the unity of the Northeast Asian trio.
Though North Korea has aimed to improve its nuclear and missile capabilities, it has yet to pair the two successfully.
North Korea fired two missiles from submarines earlier this year, but South Korean defense officials believe they exploded in midair after flying less than 30 kilometers (18 miles).
Pyongyang’s Wednesday launch came 47 days after its last missile test from underwater on July 9, a day after Seoul and Washington announced the deployment of the US -operated advanced missile defense system in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang.
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The missile, which flew some 500 kilometers before falling into the sea within Japan’s air defense identification zone, was considered successful, unlike two previous attempts.
