North Korea’s test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile over the weekend was at least a partial success, a Pentagon official with access to U.S. intelligence tells the Washington Examiner.
“This is something that started as a joke, but has turned into something very serious,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the initial U.S. assessment publicly.
North Korea has been working feverishly to try to develop the capability to launch missiles from submarines, and claimed success last year, releasing photos and videos that the U.S. quickly concluded had been faked.
This time though, the Pentagon believes the launch from the North Korean submarine “Gorae” was a success. The actual flight of the KN-11 missile, however, was a failure, in that it traveled a short distance, around 20 miles.
The official said North Korea has conducted dozens of tests of the undersea ejection system, which essentially uses compressed air to pop the missile out of the water, where its rocket engine then ignites. That appeared to work as intended.
North Korea has conducted separate land-based tests of the missile.
Pyongyang is getting closer to having the ability to mount a warhead on a missile and fire it from a submarine. The design of the Gorae is unlike U.S. submarines, which carry multiple missiles that launch from vertical tubes.
The North Korean sub carries a single missile, and it launched from the missile of the submarine, up through the sail.
The Pentagon official who described the latest intelligence to the Examiner said at this stage the new capability poses little threat to the United States, because North Korea’s diesel-powered electric submarines lack the range to travel undetected to the North American coast.
The capability could threaten Japan, or South Korea, the official said.
Officially, the Pentagon says that while it is still assessing the North Korean test, it nevertheless condemned the launch clear violation of U.N. resolutions, and a threat to regional security.
“North Korea’s pursuit of ballistic missile nuclear weapons capabilities continues to pose a significant threat to the United States, to our allies in the region and remains obviously a significant concern, said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook.
“It is just the latest in a series of steps they’ve taken that we think have been counterproductive. And certainly nothing that they have been doing in recent weeks is going to add to stability in the region.”
