North Korea Says Underwater-Launched Missile Test Succeeded

North Korea Says Underwater-Launched Missile Test Succeeded (excerpt)

(Source: Associated Press; published Oct. 03, 2019)

By Hyung-Jin Kim

This photo provided by North Korea shows an underwater-launched missile lifts off in the waters off North Korea's eastern coastal town of Wonsan. The launch was from a submerged barge, not a submarine, according to the US. (KCNA photo)

SEOUL, South Korea --- North Korea confirmed Thursday it has carried out its first underwater-launched ballistic missile test in three years, in an apparent bid to dial up pressure on the United States ahead of a weekend resumption of their nuclear diplomacy.

Wednesday’s test of the Pukguksong-3 missile, which North Korea describes as a submarine-launched ballistic missile, is seen as the North’s most high-profile weapons launch since it began diplomacy with the United States early last year. Some experts say North Korea wants to show to the U.S. what would happen if diplomacy fails again.

The Korean Central News Agency said the missile test in the waters off its east coast was successful and “ushered in a new phase in containing the outside forces' threat to (North Korea) and further bolstering its military muscle for self-defense.”

It didn’t say which outside forces threaten its security. But North Korea has previously said it was forced to develop nuclear-armed missiles to cope with U.S. military threats.

The KCNA report didn’t elaborate on whether the missile was fired from a submarine, a barge or other underwater launch platform. North Korea-dispatched photos showed the missile rising and spewing bright flames above a cloud of smoke from the sea, but the launch platform was not identifiable.

Kim Dong-yub, an analyst from Seoul's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, wrote on Facebook that the missile was likely fired from a barge built for an underwater launch. He said the missile is under development and that North Korea must test-fire it from a submarine before deploying it. (end of excerpt)

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U.S. Says N.K. Missile Was Fired from Sea-Based Platform, Not Submarine

(Source: Yonhap News Agency; issued Oct 04, 2019)

WASHINGTON --- The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday that North Korea's latest missile launch appeared to have come from a sea-based platform, not a submarine.

The comments come after North Korea said it successfully tested a new submarine-launched ballistic missile off its east coast Wednesday.

"We assess that it was a short- to medium-range ballistic missile," JCS spokesman Air Force Col. Patrick Ryder told reporters, adding that it flew some 280 miles (450 kilometers) into the East Sea.

"I would say that we have no indication that it was launched from a submarine but rather a sea-based platform," he said.

South Korea's military said earlier that the North appeared to have fired an SLBM that flew around 450 km at a maximum altitude of about 910 km. It also said the launch appeared to have come from a sea-based platform.

Experts say the missile could have flown a greater distance had it been fired at a normal angle, not "in vertical mode."

The launch raised tensions again ahead of the resumption of working-level denuclearization negotiations between the North and the U.S. in Sweden this weekend.

Submarine-launched missiles are harder to detect than ground-based ones, increasing the threat posed to the U.S. and its allies.

U.S. President Donald Trump still maintained a cautious tone.

"We'll see," he told reporters Thursday when asked if the North had gone too far this time. "They want to talk, and we'll be talking to them soon. We'll see."

Trump has played down the North's previous tests of short-range projectiles and ballistic missiles this year as "very standard," saying they may be in breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions but they are not a violation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's promise to him to stop nuclear weapons and long-range missile tests.

North Korea's chief negotiator, Kim Myong-gil, arrived in Stockholm Thursday after telling reporters on a stop in Beijing that he was optimistic about the upcoming talks.

"As the U.S. side sent a new signal, I bear high expectations and optimism," he said without elaborating.

The two sides are expected to focus on finding common ground between U.S. demands for the North's complete and verified denuclearization and Pyongyang's demands for sanctions relief and security guarantees.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono held a phone call Thursday and discussed the North Korean launch.

Esper and Kono "agreed that the North Korea tests are unnecessarily provocative and do not set the stage for diplomacy and that North Korea should cease these tests," Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said at the briefing alongside Ryder.

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