North Korea's military conducts a test-firing of a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile in waters off its east coast near Sinpo, North Korea, Oct. 19, according to its Korean Central News Agency's report on Oct. 20. Yonhap |
North Korea announced Wednesday that it has successfully conducted a test-firing of a new-type of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) a day earlier.
On Tuesday, South Korea's military said the North fired a short-range missile believed to be an SLBM from the vicinity of Sinpo, where its main submarine shipyard is located. It marked the North's eighth known major missile test this year.
The Academy of National Defense Science conducted the test-launch from "8.24 Yongung" where its first SLBM was "successfully launched five years ago to demonstrate the military muscle of the DPRK, " according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
In August 2016, North Korea claimed it had successfully launched an SLBM in waters off its east coast near Sinpo, though Seoul officials have said it was unclear if the missile was actually fired from a submarine.