Seoul asks Tokyo to share intel on North Korea's missile test

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo answers questions during the National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Defense at the ministry's headquarters in Yongsan, downtown Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

By Jung Da-min

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said Wednesday South Korea has asked Japan to share the specifics of North Korea's test-firing of a missile believed to be a submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) via the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA).

"The Ministry of Defense asked Japanese authorities to share the specifics of North Korea's test-fired missile via GSOMIA as the military information-sharing pact between Seoul and Tokyo is still intact," Jeong told lawmakers during the National Assembly's annual audit of the Ministry of National Defense.

While Seoul said it detected one ballistic missile at 7:11 a.m., Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters in Japan that there were two missiles, with one falling within the country's EEZ (exclusive economic zone) off Shimane Prefecture at 7:27 and the other outside the EEZ at 7:17 a.m. Suga later corrected this initial report, saying the launch was of one ballistic missile.

The minister added South Korea has no concrete information regarding data Japan had about the test-fired missile. "But a missile can be loaded with a staging system and so if the separated components fell off, the radar could detect the launch of one missile as two or three," Jeong told lawmakers.

Jeong said there had been no formal request from the Japanese side. Seoul had decided late August not to renew the GSOMIA in response to Japan's earlier decision to remove South Korea from its list of countries receiving preferential treatment in trade. Japan citied "security" reasons for its decision. The GSOMIA is set to expire on Nov. 24.

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Jeong said the information sharing between the two countries will continue until its expiration.

Ahead of the audit, Cheong Wa Dae held a National Security Council meeting over the North's missile launch presided by National Security Office (NSO) chief Chung Eui-yong. The NSC said they weigh on the possibility that the North conducted an SLBM test. Also, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the unidentified ballistic missile was fired from the sea in the northeastern side of Wonsan, in the North's Gangwon Province. It flew around 450 kilometers at an apogee of 910 kilometers.

North Korea's ballistic missile launch on Wednesday marked the 11th of such launches conducted this year. It came a day after South Korea showcased its F-35A stealth fighter jets to mark the country's 71st Armed Forces Day. North Korea's First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choe Son-hui said Tuesday evening the working-level negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington would be held Saturday, following a preliminary meeting on Friday.

North Korea has condemned South Korea's introducing state-of-the-art weaponry as well as its joint military drills with the United States to be a violation of the inter-Korean Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA) reached Sept. 19 last year.

South Korea has said North Korea's missile launches were in violation of the "spirit" of the CMA. Seoul's National Assembly on Sept. 30 passed a resolution of such claim, calling the North to stop "hostile" actions.

Military experts said the North's latest launch could be of a Pukguksong-3 SLBM, an upgraded version of Pukguksong-1 (KN-11) and Pukguksong-2 launched four times from 2015 to 2016 and two times in 2017, respectively. While a Pukguksong-1 uses liquid or solid fuel and launched from a submarine, a Pukguksong-2 uses solid fuel and launched from the ground. A Pukguksong-3 is speculated to use solid fuel and launched from a submarine.

They speculated the latest launch could be from the North's "newly built submarine" that had been revealed through the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 23. Although the exact specifications and other relevant details of the new submarine were unknown, it is said to be capable of housing multiple launchers for SLBMs.

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