North Korea Successfully Tests Submarine-Launched Missile for the First Time
On March 12th, North Korea announced that it had successfully launched a submarine-launched missile for the first time.
Analysts predict that North Korea will continue to conduct provocations by launching various missiles from submarines in the future.
SBS reporter Kim Ha-young has the story.
The launch occurred just before the start of the joint US-South Korea military exercise, Foal Eagle, and was conducted from the Barisa-class submarine, which was already mobilized for the training.
The North Korean government released a photo of the submarine’s control room, which showed three numbers that were likely to indicate the missile launch.
The Barisa-class submarine is known as the Sinpo-class or Simpo-class submarine, which is a diesel-electric submarine with a displacement of around 2,000 tons.
It is also reported that the submarine is equipped with a vertical launch system, which was used to launch North Korea’s first submarine-launched ballistic missile, the Pukguksong-1, in 2016.
The Defense Science Institute of South Korea has assessed that the Barisa-class submarine is a test platform for submarine-launched missiles rather than an operational one.
The US and South Korean military authorities have evaluated the recent launch as a provocation and a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
It is noteworthy that North Korea used a torpedo launch tube instead of a vertical launch tube in the recent missile test, which indicates the country’s intention to expand its provocation tactics using submarines.
