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Experts: North Korea's Submarine-Capable Missile Poses Threat to US Allies

Christy Lee

   WASHINGTON - North Korea's underwater-launched missile has a
   longer-range than the missiles the country tested earlier this year and
   is designed to be launched from a submarine that has a potential to
   pose a threat to the U.S. allies in northeast Asia, experts said.

   "The missile tested ... has a maximum range of more than twice that of
   the shorter-range systems North Korea has been testing" this summer,
   said Michael Elleman, director of Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
   program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
   "It does not pose a threat to the continental U.S., but once fully
   developed, it will threaten U.S. allies and interests in northeast
   Asia."

   North Korea conducted an underwater launch of a new ballistic missile
   on Wednesday that flew about 450 kilometers off the country's eastern
   coastal town of Wonsan before landing in the waters off Japan. It
   reached a peak altitude of 950 kilometers, South Korean's Joint Chief
   of Staff said.

   "It's indeed the longest-range, solid-fueled missile North Korea has
   tested to date," said Ian Williams, deputy director of the Missile
   Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
   (CSIS). "[North Korea] has not tested this kind of missile since 2016."

   Reaching South Korea, Japan

   The missile tested Wednesday is considered to have a maximum range of
   about 1,900 kilometers at a standard trajectory. The range makes it
   possible to target all of South Korea and Japan's four main islands.
   The missile is considered the [1]Pukguksong-3, and the last time North
   Korea tested a Pukguksong-class missile was in August 2016.

   North Korea tested solid-fueled missiles this summer, in an apparent
   attempt to fine tune the technology. Missiles using solid fuel are
   harder to detect because the fuel can be loaded long before any
   launches and then be moved.

   The mobile characteristic of the solid-fueled missiles makes it
   possible to upload the missiles on a submarine or an underwater barge
   before being launched. This is considered an improvement over
   liquid-fuel missiles, which have to be loaded immediately before
   missiles are fired.

References

   1. https://thediplomat.com/2019/10/north-korea-finally-unveils-the-pukguksong-3-slbm-first-takeaways/

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