North Korea recently tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), and the state media later claimed that it was launched from a submarine under the water. Many South Korean experts believe that if North Korea loads SLBM with nuclear warheads on a new type of submarine with multiple vertical launch tubes, North Korea will be able to become a “rule changer” and change the current international situation.
After the North Korean National Academy of Defense Sciences tested a ballistic missile last Tuesday (19th), state media took the initiative to release the photos. Experts analyze from the photos that the missile was launched from a submarine under the water. The design of the missile is more evolved, lighter in weight, and smaller in diameter (smaller in size). According to reports, the 2,000-ton Xinpu-class submarine carried this missile.
Sources pointed out that on the eve of North Korea’s test firing, the South Korean military had detected that the submarine “824 Hero” was preparing to go to sea. Agence France-Presse also pointed out that the satellite imagery on the 19th did indeed show that a submarine was anchored in the Shinpo area.
It is worth noting that in addition to the recent development of SLBM, North Korea has also grown in its ability to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), and has made leap-forward progress in the development of missile technology.
It is interesting to note that North Korea’s attitude towards the successful test launch of the new missile was low-key. The top leader of the test, Kim Jong-un, was not present, and the official media did not disclose much relevant information.
However, the North Korean Academy of Defense Sciences has pointedly emphasized that this ballistic missile has been successfully tested five years ago, and it seems to be choking with South Korea. Even if the submarine-launched ballistic missile was successfully tested in September, it would not be a big deal.
David Sanger, a U.S. political and national security analyst and a senior New York Times reporter, said recently that a large part of what the Biden administration has done is ignoring the existence of North Korea. He believes that North Korea’s main purpose in this operation is to hope that the United States can “pay attention to me”! Some experts also pointed out that what North Korea’s move is more important is that it hopes to have more bargaining chips at the negotiating table with the United States.
North Korea’s test-fire of submarine-launched ballistic missiles also prompted the UN Security Council to convene an emergency meeting. The US special envoy to North Korea, Sung Kim (Sung Kim), met in Seoul today (24) with Noh Kyu-duk, Special Representative for Peace and Security on the Korean Peninsula of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea, and pointed out that North Korea’s test launch on the 19th was a “provocation.” , Pyongyang should stop the “worried and counterproductive” missile test firing.
He stated that the United States is determined to engage in “enduring and substantive diplomacy” with North Korea. “Our goal is still the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.” “This is why Pyongyang’s recent ballistic missile test has caused many people to worry about it and will have a counterproductive effect on the Korean peninsula’s move towards sustainable peace.”
The Pyongyang authorities have so far rejected the U.S. proposal, accusing the U.S. and South Korea of negotiating diplomacy while at the same time using military activities to raise tensions. Jin Xingyong said: “We call on North Korea to stop these provocations and other subversive activities, and to engage in dialogue.” “The United States is ready to meet with North Korea without presupposing a position. We have also made it very clear that the United States is fully committed to North Korea. There is no hostility.”
Some experts estimate that North Korea may continue to develop new types of submarines with larger tonnage to carry new types of SLBM in the future, which will pose a serious threat to South Korea, the United States and other countries.
Mun Jin-sik, a submarine expert and professor at Gyeonggi University, said that currently due to insufficient budget and technical capabilities, although Kim Jong-un visited the construction site in July 2019 to inspect the new submarine, the nuclear-powered submarine that has completed the design should not be able to be in the short term. In the water, Wen Jinzhi is worried: “If North Korea concentrates investment in this area, the situation may be very different.”
The former professor of the National Defense University in South Korea authorized Rong Shou to warn: “If North Korea mounts multiple SLBMs on submarines, it may pose a serious security threat to South Korea and Japan that can change the current situation.”
North Korea announced the development of a supersonic missile “Mars 8” last month (September), and is now testing a new submarine-launched ballistic missile. Some analysts believe that the heating up of the military wrestling between the DPRK and the ROK may turn the Korean Peninsula into the Asian version of the “Balkan Peninsula” (known as the European Gunpowder Depot).
.