Japan has also assessed that the weapon tested was likely solid-fueled, he said, making it easier to transport and hide from spy satellites. Pictures released by the North showed a smaller and thinner SLBM compared with earlier sub-launched models it has tested. The country said the as-yet-unnamed weapon was fired from the same submarine from which it tested its first SLBM, the Pukguksong-1, in August A combination of pictures shows a new submarine-launched ballistic missile during a test in this undated photo released Wednesday.
Some observers had expected the latest test to involve a new submarine shown off in that is believed to be capable of launching multiple SLBMs. That submarine could potentially give the North a second-strike capability in the event of an attack on the country. Still, the smaller SLBM could suggest that Pyongyang is moving closer to fielding an operational ballistic missile submarine, since the new weapon would allow for more missiles to be deployed on the vessel.
In recent weeks, North Korea has tested a range of increasingly powerful new weapons systems. Japan's missile defense system designed to intercept ballistic missiles is also considered incapable of stopping a cruise missile. If North Korea was attempting to carry a nuclear warhead on a cruise missile, Japan would face a serious security challenge. Tokyo is keeping a close eye on how Pyongyang will manage the new missile technology down the road. In March, North Korea said it test-fired new tactical guided projectiles suspected to be ballistic missiles, as Biden has warned that necessary action could be taken against Pyongyang if it ratchets up tensions.
At the first congress of the ruling party to be held in January in nearly five years, Kim pledged to strengthen North Korea's military capacities and bolster its nuclear arsenal to protect national security. The missile tests on Saturday and Sunday, meanwhile, were conducted at a time when North Korea has been struggling to cope with its worst food crisis in more than a decade.
Talks with the United States over denuclearization and sanctions relief have been stalled for around two years. Kim said in June that the food situation in North Korea was "getting tense" as its agricultural sector was devastated by powerful typhoons and flooding in The nuclear-armed country also seems not to have imported food products recently from China, which is known as its closest and most influential ally in economic terms, as it has blocked the border with its neighbor amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Pyongyang has cut off land traffic to and from China and Russia since early last year to prevent the intrusion of the virus, first detected in China's central city of Wuhan in late Seoul is holding what is said to be South Korea's largest ever defence exhibition this week. It will reportedly unveil a new fighter jet as well as guided weapons like missiles. It is also due to launch its own space rocket soon.
North and South Korea technically remain at war as the Korean War, which split the peninsula into two countries and which saw the US backing the South, ended in with an armistice.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said last week that he did not wish for war to break out again. He said his country needed to continue developing weapons for self-defence against enemies, namely the US which he accused of hostility.
North Korea has been pushing for years to develop and test nuclear-armed missiles from submarines. But can they actually fire them from a submarine? We will have to wait for images of the launch, which will give analysts a better idea of just how far Pyongyang has come.
And let's be clear about the threat - the country's submarines are reportedly noisy and easy to track. The regime is thought to have only one submarine capable of launching missiles while a second one is being built at Sinpo. There is, of course, also a bit of showmanship going on here. Just last month, South Korea launched its own submarine-launched ballistic missile and the North was not impressed. And following its footsteps, the Saitama City authorities stopped the supply of face masks to the kindergarten of Korean school some days ago, and as for the recent riot, though the side of Korean University demanded a halt to it, tens of policemen who arrived in the scene took no measure and, as a result, the two-hour-riot created a gruesome atmosphere.
Such facts give a clear answer to the source of all the discrimination acts against the Korean nation. The Abe authorities, before claiming a sort of dialogue, should bear in mind that it is Chongryon that represents the dignity and sovereignty of the DPRK in Japan.
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