North Korean Demonstrates New Submarine Launches Ballistic Missile Test

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observing the launch.

North Korea has released a video showing what the country claims to be a successful submarine-launched ballistic missile test last month. It comes two days after Pyongyang claimed to have tested its newly developed miniaturized hydrogen bomb. 

 

As part of an almost an hour long package into N. Korean military preparedness, the Korean Central Television showcased a segment of a ballistic missile launch carried out from a submarine on December 21. The video showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observing the launch, as the missile cleared the clouds.

The submarine-launched ballistic missile featured in the video was allegedly the KN-11, currently being developed by the North. According to the initial Washington Free Beacon (WFB) report earlier this week that missile was fired off a submerged the port city of Sinpo, where the country is building a Sinpo class submarine.

 

 UN Security Council condemns N. Korea nuclear test, starts work on 'further measures'

 

This is the second time in the last few months that the North has tried to demonstrate the capabilities of the missile, with the first one resulting in failure on November 27. The test was carried out on board missile-firing submarine, known as the Gorae, or Whale. That test has damaged the submarine.

But the latest test appears to have been successful potentially adding oil to the fire of already tense situation surrounding Pyongyang nuclear program. According to US officials who spoke with WFB the missile could be fitted with a nuclear warhead within a year.

“The country seems to be in the stage of the ejection testing, but not in the completion stage,” South Korean military official told Yonhap news.

Friday’s broadcast follows the unanimous condemnation by the UN Security Council of North Korea’s most recent nuclear test which was carried out Wednesday. While Pyongyang claimed to have tested a new thermonuclear bomb, experts agree that the device tested was an atomic bomb similar to the three previous tests.