OPINION:
North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile that flew approximately 500 kilometers toward Japan. The event is significant because it shows the North now has this capability which could render South Korea’s missile-defense systems irrelevant. In addition, a submarine nuclear capability will make it more likely the North could launch a first strike and make it harder for the United States and South Korea to target the North’s nuclear weapons.
The ballistic missile was fired at around 5:30 a.m. (2030 GMT) from near the coastal city of Sinpo, where a submarine base is located, officials at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defence Ministry told Reuters. The missile was fired at a high angle, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported, an indication that its full range would be 1,000 km (620 miles) at an ordinary trajectory. The distance indicated the North’s push to develop a submarine-launched missile system was paying off.
The projectile reached Japan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) for the first time, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a briefing, referring to an area of control designated by countries to help maintain air security.
North Korea’s “SLBM (submarine-launched ballistic missile) technology appears to have progressed,” a South Korean military official told Reuters.
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