SEOUL-North Korea fired a submarine-launched missile that traveled much further than previous similar tests, a fresh sign of progress in Pyongyang’s program to develop nuclear-tipped missiles that are hard to detect before launch. The U.S. Strategic Command said it tracked the North Korean submarine launch of the presumed KN-11 missile into the Sea of Japan. Rocketry experts told Reuters news agency that the distance the missile traveled indicates the North is improving its submarine-launched missile system.
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The launch comes during an annual drill between the United States and South Korea that involves 25,000 USA troops, CNN reported.
Though the missile went down into the sea, it penetrated an air defense security zone outside of Japan, the BBC reported. “The SLBM program has received quite a bit of attention and the testing is actively promoted and embellished in North Korean media”, said Melissa Hanham, a senior research associate in the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke about “a grave threat to Japan’s security”, Reuters reports. North Korea has protested the drills, calling them preparations for an invasion of the North.
The missile was sacked at around 5.30am local time from near the coastal city of Sinpo, where satellite imagery shows a submarine base to be located, and travelled about 500 kilometres, officials at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defence Ministry told Reuters.
Wang said the three neighbors, despite problems and difficulties among them, should work together to deal with regional threats like North Korea’s missile and nuclear ambitions. Markets were steady following the submarine launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea. Japan’s Cabinet was to approve details of the provision, provided to the women through a South Korean organization launched last month, ahead of Japan-South Korea talks. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida makes opening remarks during the trilateral meeting in Tokyo, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016.
This comes amid the annual joint military exercise between United States and South Korea, which kicked off on Monday.
“If the North Korean regime continues to pursue its nuclear and missile capabilities and ignore severe economic difficulties of its people, it will bring about more severe sanctions and diplomatic isolation”. About 25,000 USA forces and 50,000 South Korean troops are involved in the two-week Operation Ulchi Freedom exercise, which is largely simulated.
Under Security Council resolutions, aimed partially at curbing North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons, the communist country is prohibited from carrying out ballistic missile launches.
It said it wouldn’t speculate on why North Korea placed the mines there.
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North Korea launched the missile from waters near the eastern port city of Sinpo at around 5:30 a.m., according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
