A senior American defense official tells the Washington Examiner that the U.S. is “assessing” reports by South Korea that North Korea may have successfully launched a ballistic missile from a submarine.
The launch was monitored by South Korea off the northeastern coast of the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea has made the claim before, and even provided photographs and video of its leader Kim Jong Un purportedly watching the launch, but those images were judged by most western experts to be faked to make a failed attempt appear successful.
If the latest report is confirmed, it would be the “first actual launch from a sub,” the U.S. official said.
North Korea is known to be seeking the capability to launch ballistic missiles from the sea, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States, as well as a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could be delivered by those missiles.
