[Summary] North Korea Launches Another Missile... Will the Next Be an SLBM?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] North Korea launched an unidentified projectile into the East Sea on the 17th.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced in a text message sent to the press corps around 8:56 a.m. that North Korea fired a projectile into the East Sea, the type of which has not yet been identified. The Joint Chiefs are currently analyzing specifications such as range, altitude, and speed, but considering that ballistic missiles are promptly reported to the media when detected, it is highly likely to be a ballistic missile.

This launch marks North Korea's fourth show of force this year. Previously, on the 5th and 11th, North Korea fired ballistic missiles claimed to be 'hypersonic missiles' in the Jagang-do area, and on the 14th, it launched two short-range ballistic missiles called the 'North Korean version of Iskander' (KN-23) from a train on the railway in the Uiju area of North Pyongan Province.

The Biden administration in the United States responded to North Korea's 'hypersonic' launches by imposing its first sanctions on North Korea, but North Korea has continued its shows of force at three-day intervals as if to flaunt the response.

North Korea experts say, "It is important to note that North Korea is proceeding with weapons development according to its plans while refraining from aggressive external messages, unlike in the past." This means that until the completion of the national strategic weapons modernization task, North Korea intends to continuously test and finalize the establishment of 'tactical nuclear delivery systems' while avoiding international responses.

North Korea may also conduct additional test launches of submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) in the future. The U.S.-based North Korea specialist media 38 North analyzed satellite images and concluded that North Korea's Sinpo-class submarine was repaired and redeployed in December last year. Last year, North Korea consecutively test-fired long-range cruise missiles (September 11), train-launched ballistic missiles (September 15), and SLBMs (October 19).

Jung Sung-jang, head of the North Korea Research Center at the Sejong Institute, said, "North Korea intends to maintain a 'lineage-to-lineage' relationship with China, which is friendly to North Korea, but will respond with 'strong against strong' toward the United States, which is hostile to North Korea, for the time being."