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North Korean state media confirmed on Wednesday that North Korea tested a new, smaller ballistic missile from a submarine. Analysts said the move may be aimed at deploying a combat missile submarine more quickly.
The day before South Korean state media issued the statement, the South Korean military reported that it believed that North Korea had launched a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) off its east coast, the latest in a series of North Korean missile tests.
The White House urged North Korea not to “provoke any further”. Spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Tuesday that the United States is still willing to engage in diplomatic contact with North Korea on North Korea’s weapons program.
So far, Pyongyang has rejected these proposals, accusing the United States and South Korea of talking about diplomacy, while also increasing tensions through its own military activities.
Diplomats said the United States and Britain plan to present North Korea’s latest test at a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday.
The official North Korean news agency KCNA stated that the “new” submarine-launched ballistic missile was launched from the same submarine that participated in the 2016 test of the old submarine-launched ballistic missile.
North Korea has a large fleet of aging submarines, but it has not deployed operational ballistic missile submarines in addition to the experimental Gorae-class submarines used in the test.
The photos released by the Korean Central News Agency seem to show a missile that is thinner and smaller than North Korea’s early submarine-launched ballistic missile design. This may be the first time it was shown at the defense exhibition in Pyongyang last week. Model.
Smaller submarine-launched ballistic missiles may mean more missiles are stored on a submarine, albeit with a shorter range, which may bring North Korea, which possesses nuclear weapons, closer to deploying an operational ballistic missile submarine (SSB).
Joseph Dempsey, a defense researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said: “Although the smaller North Korean SLBM design can carry more missiles per ship, it can also implement a smaller and less difficult SSB design. Including easier integration/modification of existing submarines.”, said on Twitter.
Nevertheless, until Pyongyang makes more progress in building a larger submarine, this development is expected to have limited impact on Pyongyang’s arsenal.
“It just means that they are trying to diversify their submarine launch options,” said Dave Schmeler, a senior research assistant at the James Martin Center for Non-Proliferation Research in California. “This is an interesting development, but there is only one submarine in the water, and theoretically one or two of them can be launched. This hasn’t changed much.”
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Kim Dong-yup, a former South Korean naval officer who teaches at Kyungnam University in Seoul, said that the missile may be an advanced version of the KN-23, which is a short-range ballistic missile that was tested for the first time in 2019. Visual similarity and prescribed guidance technology.
KCNA stated that the new SLBM has advanced capabilities, including “flanking maneuverability and gliding jump maneuverability.”
KCNA added: “(SLBM) will greatly help to upgrade the country’s defense technology to a higher level and enhance our navy’s underwater combat capabilities.”
Schmeler said that “glide jump” is a way to change the trajectory of a missile, making it more difficult to track and intercept.
North Korea has conducted many short-range ballistic missile tests in recent years, and analysts say these missiles are designed to evade South Korea’s missile defense system.
According to reports, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not participate in Tuesday’s test.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Tuesday that the missile was launched from the sea near Sinpo, where North Korea has submarines and equipment to test submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
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