By Kang Seung-woo
Pyongyang heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula over the weekend by test-firing a ballistic missile from a submarine and launching three anti-ship missiles, further deteriorating its ties with Seoul.
The Rodong Sinmun, mouthpiece of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, reported Saturday that the North had successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine under the supervision of leader Kim Jong-un.
But the party organ failed to specify when or where the test took place.
“The test-fire proved and confirmed that the ballistic missile fired from the submarine fully met the requirements of the latest military science and technology,” the newspaper said.
“He (Kim) stressed that the acquisition of the technology of firing ballistic missiles from a strategic submarine under water made it possible for the Korean People’s Army (KPA) to possess world-level strategic weapons capable of striking and wiping out hostile forces in any waters.”
The fresh show of force raises concerns that the North could deploy submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) in a year or two after completing the last stages of development for the weapons of mass destruction.
Some military experts have argued that the South needs to speed up its weapons modernization programs, including the development of a missile defense system, to cope with the growing threats from the North.
Later in the day, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the North also test-fired three KN-01 anti-ship cruise missiles early Saturday evening into the East Sea off Wonsan, a major port on the North’s east coast.
The missile launches came as the North Korean regime is increasing its belligerent rhetoric, threatening to attack South Korean naval ships that intrude into the North’s territorial waters in the West Sea, claiming that South Korean vessels recently violated the western sea border.
“From this moment, it will make a sighting strike without any prior warning at any warship of the South Korean Navy intruding into the extension of the demarcation line in the West Sea,” the command of the KPA in the Southwestern Sector of Front said in a statement, Friday, sent to Cheong Wa Dae’s National Security Office.
The North also issued a similar warning to the presidential office on Saturday.
Seoul accused Pyongyang of ratcheting up tension on the peninsula, vowing to retaliate against any possible attack.
“The South expresses regret over the North’s tension-triggering remarks,” the defense ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
“Should the North take provocative action near the western sea border, the South Korean military will sternly and strongly respond to it.”
The U.S. Department of State said Saturday that the test-fire violated U.N. Security Council resolutions against North Korea.
“Launches using ballistic missile technology are a clear violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions,” a U.S. official said.
The department also called on the North to refrain from action that further raises tensions in the region and focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its international commitments and obligations.
Some North Korea observers believe the provocative acts are apparently aimed at pressuring South Korea and the U.S. to change their policy toward the reclusive country.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said, “The North is trying to increase political and military uncertainties on the peninsula to create an impetus for talks with the South or the U.S.”
Prof. Koh Yoo-hwan of Dongguk University also said that a series of provocations from the North was testing U.S. “strategic patience.”
“By flexing its military muscles, the North wants to show that U.S. policy is a failure, urging it to change its policy toward the country,” Koh said.
The North is expected to stick to a show of force for the time being.
“During the first half of the year, the North is likely to provoke the South,” said World Institute for North Korea Studies head An Chan-il.
But he said that to ease its financial difficulties, the North might shift to dialogue mode ahead of the 70th anniversary of the division of the Korean Peninsula and Korea’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.
“The North is likely to commit itself to holding a high-level meeting or an inter-Korean summit in its efforts to lead the South to lift its May 24 economic sanctions or resume tours to Mt. Geumgang,“ An said.