North Korea says it has testfired a missile from a

submarine, a first

Object 1

North Korean state media shows photos of leader Kim Jong Un watching an underwater
test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile. (Reuters)

By Anna Fifield-May 9

TOKYO North Korea said Saturday that it had successfully test-fired a submarine-launched
ballistic missile from under the sea, which would mark a major advance in its military
capabilities.
Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, ordered the test of the world-level strategic weapon
and was present when it soared into the sky from underwater, the state-run Korean Central
News Agency reported. The Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the Korean Workers Party,

separately ran photos that showed Kim on a boat holding binoculars as the rocket blasted out
of the sea.
North Korea had previously tested the missile from platforms on land and at sea, but this
appears to be the first time it has launched a rocket from under water. South Korean officials
later said it appeared that the North fired three anti-ship cruise missiles.
If the missile technology could be deployed by the North Korean Navy, analysts said it could
pose a threat to South Korean and U.S. Navy vessels in the area, but that is still a big if.
The North Korean reports did not say when or where the test took place, or how far the
missile flew. There was no independent confirmation of the reports.

But the test proved and confirmed that the ballistic missile fire from the submarine fully met
the requirements of the latest military science and technology, KCNA said, according to a
translation by NK News.

News of the launch came on the same day that Kim had been expected to make his first
foreign appearance, at Russias World War II Victory Day celebrations in Moscow.
But the Kremlin last week said Kim would not be attending because he had to take care of
internal matters. Saturdays photos show Kim instead flexing his military muscle at home,
declaring the test an eye-opening success.
The test also comes after days of saber-rattling by the North, which has said it would fire at
South Korean naval vessels that it deemed to have entered its territorial waters. The two
Koreas has been arguing over its disputed western sea border.
Daniel Pinkston, the Korea analyst at the International Crisis Group and a non-proliferation
expert, said that he doubt the launch reported Saturday was actually from a submarine.
"I think they probably launched it from some kind of submerged platform, possibly towed by a
submarine. I think it would be too risky to do the first launch from a submarine," he said.
North Korea has a limited fleet of aging subs.
While the launch was a significant step for North Korea, Pinkston said he did not think the
system was operational yet. "That will still take time and more flight-tests. Now we can watch
the responses. I don't see [North] Korea's neighbors sitting around and not responding," he
said.
South Korea and the United States have been concerned that North Korea was developing a
ballistic missile that could be launched underwater. They are also concerned that North Korea
might be making progress on miniaturizing a nuclear weapon so that it could be attached to a
missile, although there has been no evidence that it has mastered this difficult step.
Pyongyang has previously said that it has tested a missile launcher from the shore in Sinpo, on
North Koreas east coast, and in February said that it had from the test of a canister-mounted
anti-ship cruise missile from a patrol vessel.
Naval-Technology.com, a defense analysis Web site, reported this week that North Korea had
conducted a test from an underwater test platform near Sinpo, quoting U.S. defense officials

as saying that the development was part of North Koreas efforts to expand the countrys
nuclear-weapons capacity.
The submarine can get the platform to launch the missile within range of the continental
United States, Alaska, or Hawaii, it quoted Bruce Bechtol, a former Defence Intelligence
Agency official, as saying. Thus, once operational, this immediately brings key nodes in the
United States within range of what would likely be a nuclear armed missile.

Anna Fifield is The Posts bureau chief in Tokyo, focusing on Japan and
the Koreas. She previously reported for the Financial Times from Washington DC,
Seoul, Sydney, London and from across the Middle East.
Posted by Thavam