SEOUL (AFP) -- North Korea fired a suspected submarine-launched ballistic missile into the sea on Tuesday, the South’s military said, the nuclear-armed country’s latest advance in weapons technology and one that could give it a second-strike capability.
The “short-range ballistic missile suspected to be an SLBM” was fired from Sinpo into the sea east of the peninsula, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
Sinpo is a major naval shipyard with satellite photographs previously showing submarines at the facility, and the statement added: “South Korean and U.S. intelligence are closely analyzing for additional detail. “
The key question will be whether it was fired from a working submarine, or an underwater platform or barge.
A proven submarine-based missile capability would take the North’s arsenal to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a second-strike capability in the event of an attack on its military bases.
Pyongyang is known to be developing an SLBM and has carried out two previous underwater launches in 2016 and 2019.
The missile travelled around 590 kilometers (365 miles) at a maximum altitude of about 60 kilometers, an informed source told AFP.
For its part South Korea last month tested its first SLBM, putting it among the elite group of nations that have demonstrated proven technology, and also unveiled a supersonic cruise missile.
Tuesday’s launch comes after North Korea in recent weeks tested a long-range cruise missile, a train-launched weapon and what it said was a hypersonic warhead, sparking global concern.
It also mounted a rare weapons exhibition, showcasing the gigantic international ballistic missile (ICBM) revealed at a night-time military parade last year.
Pyongyang says it needs its arsenal to defend itself against a possible U.S. invasion.
Opening the weapons exhibition, leader Kim Jong Un -- who has overseen rapid progress in the North’s military technology -- blamed Washington for tensions, dismissing U.S. assertions that it does not have hostile intentions.
“The fundamental reason for the North’s provocation is because the U.S. is not changing its position on talks,” Shin Beom-chul, a researcher at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, told AFP.
“Pyongyang is trying to demonstrate that it can carry out a bigger provocation.”
Pyongyang’s latest move came with Avril Haines, the U.S. director of national intelligence, visiting Seoul for a three-way meeting with her South Korean and Japanese counterparts on North Korea Tuesday, according to reports.