[AJU NEWS DB]
South Korean military suspected the test fire launching of North Korean submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) which was scheduled on Saturday have failed.
According to a report by Joongang Daily, a government official said that the test fire of a SLBM in the East Sea had failed to reach the air from underwater.
SLBMs are launched underwater from a submarine. It shoots out of the water by breaking a capsule which protects it from impact before launching. But according to the official, only debris of the capsule was visible on the ocean’s surface after suspected launching of SLBM. No missile was observed.
But Joongang Daily also wrote quoting an expert in North Korean weaponry, that the test fire could have been aimed only on how the capsule functions during a drill. In this case, missile fire is not intended.
No reports from the North were made. It is likely that they keep silence over the failed test fire.
아주경제 박세진 기자 = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
