NK moves forward on submarine-based ballistic missile
North Korea has conducted a test of an ejection launcher that helps fire missiles from submarines in a sign that the communist nation is making progress in its efforts to develop a submarine-based ballistic missile, a news report said Friday.
The land-based test simulated the initial stage of boosting a missile out of a submarine launch tube and is a sign that the rogue state is moving ahead with plans for underwater missile strike capabilities for a future nuclear-tipped missile, the Washington Free Beacon reported, citing unidentified defense officials.
U.S. intelligence agencies observed the test in late October at a facility known to be a key development center for the North's submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) program, the report said, citing two officials with access to intelligence reports.
Last month, a U.N. think tank said, citing commercial satellite imagery, that the North has built a new test stand on its eastern coast to research and develop submarine-based ballistic missiles that can be launched from submarines.
The assessment from the website 38 North, run by the U.S.-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, was in line with South Korea's intelligence that the North is believed to be developing a submarine-launched ballistic missile.
In September, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a report to a lawmaker that there is an indication that the North is developing an SLBM. A military source also said intelligence agencies spotted signs that the North has developed a ballistic missile launch tube for submarine use. (Yonhap)