North Korea said it has successfully tested a submarine-launched missile, which if confirmed would be a significant boost in its arsenal.
Pictures on state media showed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un looking on as a missile shot out of the water. Analysts say North Korea owns several nuclear warheads but this development would be an advance as submarine-fired devices are difficult to detect.
State media described the missile emerging with “a fiery, blazing trail,” but did not mention the date or the location of the test, BBC reported.
Kim Jong-un said his country now possessed a “world-level strategic weapon capable of striking and wiping out in any waters the hostile forces infringing upon [North Korea’s] sovereignty and dignity,” the reports said.
He praised the test as a “miraculous achievement” and said his country is capable of producing this type of missile. This missile was a “time bomb which will go off on the backs of our hostile enemies at any time,” he added.
Also Saturday, a South Korean defense ministry official said North Korea had fired three ship-to-ship missiles from the sea near North Korea’s eastern city of Wonsan.
The anti-ship missiles are designated KN-01 type by South Korea, and are not in the same category as the submarine-launched ballistic missile reportedly tested by the North.
News of the latest missile firings come one day after North Korea threatened to attack, without warning, any South Korean naval ships that entered disputed waters west of the peninsula.
