Renewed focus on N. Korean military after sub-launched missile test

North Korea’s latest military provocation is said to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile, South Korea’s general staff said on Tuesday. 

The South Korean military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said one missile was fired from near Sinpo on North Korea’s eastern coast into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. The JCS said the launch was detected at 10:17 am (0117 GMT), South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

No casualties or damage were reported and the missiles appeared to have already splashed down, a government spokesman cited by Japan’s Kyodo news agency said.

Citing informed sources, Yonhap also reported that the missile travelled a distance of up to 450 kilometres at a maximum altitude of 60 kilometres. 

Experts believe the leadership in Pyongyang is putting more focus on militarizing the country after a recent resurgence in weapons testing.  

The missile launch was recorded by both South Korea and Japan on Tuesday morning, with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaking of two ballistic missiles. 

The timing of the weapons test is probably no coincidence: It was only on Monday that envoys from the South Korean and US governments met in Washington to discuss North Korea’s nuclear programme. 

In addition, according to Yonhap, the intelligence chiefs of the United States, South Korea and Japan are to hold talks in the South Korean capital Seoul on Tuesday, with Pyongyang’s nuclear threat also on the agenda.  North Korea, which is subject to international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons programme, has repeatedly tested missiles in recent months. 
- Seoul (dpa), 19 
Oct, 2021