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”.
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Left: a ballistic missile takes off from a submarine in waters off the eastern port city of Sinpo on Wednesday morning.
It flew an estimated 310 miles toward the seas around Japan, the longest distance it has yet achieved in a submarine launch. Before the launch, North Korea warned that the joint military exercises were pushing the Korean Peninsula “to the brink of a war” and asked for an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council.
“He appreciated the test-fire as the greatest success and victory”, KCNA said.
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.
Admiral Jung Ho-sub hinted that there is a possibility Pyongyang could attempt to infiltrate South Korea using submarines as tensions run high in the region, following the ballistic missiles launch by the North.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile and declared it “the greatest success”, which puts the country in the “front rank” of nuclear military powers, official media reported on Thursday.
“The DPRK has joined the front rank of the military powers fully equipped with nuclear attack capabilities”, KCNA explained.
After the recent test, Kim stressed that American and South Korean “rash acts will only precipitate their self-destruction”.
“According to Lee Choon Geun, a senior research fellow of the Science and Technology Policy Institute in South Korea, “[North Korea’s] SLBM development has entered the final stage”.
The South Korean and U.S. militaries said the missile was sacked from near the coastal city of Sinpo, where a submarine base is located.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe strongly criticized the launch, saying Wednesday, “It poses a serious threat to our nation’s security, and is an unforgivable, reckless deed that can damage regional peace and stability”.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency cited a military source as saying Wednesday’s launch had been made at an acute angle to limit the missile’s range.
The North’s Nodong missiles have a range of 1,300 km and can strike Japan.
North Korea also launched a SLBM from a submarine in April.
The South Korean government and experts said the launch showed technical progress in the North’s SLBM program.
The UN met last night but is yet to publicly condemn the launch, which is effectively a test of Pyongyang’s nuclear strike capability.
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China said on Wednesday that it opposes the North’s nuclear and missile programmes.
