The underwater-launched ballistic missile test makes South Korea only the eighth country known to have developed such a weapon, joining its rival to the north, as well as the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, and India. It is the first country without nuclear weapons to have an SLBM.
South Korea’s possession of the missile was first reported earlier this month but was not confirmed by the government, which rarely makes public declarations of weapons tests, until Wednesday.
President Moon Jae-in observed the test Wednesday afternoon, his office said, with the weapon “expected to play a big role in self-reliant national defense and establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula.” It added that the missile, launched from a 3,000-ton-class submarine, flew a planned distance and hit its target precisely.
Hours earlier, North Korea launched two ballistic missiles from the Yangduk area of South Pyongan province, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The missiles flew about 500 miles into the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, it said.
The South Korean military said South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies were conducting detailed analysis for additional information and that the South Korean military had strengthened surveillance in the area.
