The Joint Chiefs of Staff here said the flight test may have been a failure because the flight distance fell far short of the SLBM range of 300 km. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 24 (Korea Bizwire) – North Korea is likely to deploy submarine-launched ballistic missiles within the next three to four years for actual combat use, having made “some progress” in related technology areas, the defense ministry said Sunday.
A day earlier, North Korea fired an SLBM in the East Sea, which flew some 30 kilometers.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff here said the flight test may have been a failure because the flight distance fell far short of the SLBM range of 300 km.
Earlier in the day, North Korea claimed it has successfully launched the SLBM in a news report carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
”North Korea is now rushing to develop SLBMs, having made some progress in some fields like the undersea ejection capability,” South Korean Ministry of National Defense’s spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told reporters.
“North Korea is projected to deploy SLBMs in three to four years, but if they pour all their resources into the project, a deployment faster than this cannot be ruled out,” Moon said.
South Korea will step up its counter-submarine capabilities involving Navy submarines, sea-borne patrol aircraft and Aegis warships in the face of North Korea’s SLBM threats, the spokesman said.
It will also introduce additional early-warning anti-ballistic radar, he also added.
The latest launch followed North Korea’s recent series of high-profile weapons tests including a failed SLBM test in December, a claimed hydrogen bomb test in January as well as a long-range rocket launch in February.
On April 15, North Korea conducted the first test of its intermediate-range ballistic missile, known as Musudan to the outside world, although the launch ended in a failure.
South Korean officials predict the North’s Kim Jong-un regime may concentrate on more weapons tests, including possibly an additional nuclear test, as the country gears up to mark a major national event.
In early May, the North is scheduled to hold its first congress of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea in more than 30 years in which the young North Korean leader may take some decisive measures to solidify his power grip.
North Korea’s evolving SLBM capabilities have posed increasingly tangible threats to South Korea because the mobile sea-borne ballistic missiles are harder to detect and counter.
Military experts said that in the Saturday launch, North Korea may have successfully switched to a solid fuel-based missile engine from its conventional liquid fuel engines, a major technology advance.
A solid fuel engine could enhance the stability of firing a ballistic missile from a wobbly submarine.
“North Korea appears to have used solid fuel in the latest SLBM test launch,” one military expert said, citing “different” colors of flames seen in a North Korea-released picture of a soaring SLBM.
North Korea is expected to speed up the completion of its SLBM development, the expert said, adding that the country may conduct SLBM flight tests “continuously” down the road.
(Yonhap)
