North Korea Successfully Tests Submarine-Based Missile

Officials say test meant to bolster self defense

North Korean state media has issued a statement saying that they successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) earlier this week in the Sea of Japan. They said the test is meant to bolster self-defense.

The test was conducted off the coast of the city of Wonsan in what the statement described as “vertical mode.” The North Koreans said it posed no danger to any neighboring country’s security.

The US, however, was quick to criticize the test as a provocative action, and suggested that North Korea needs to show more restraint. They followed this by testing an ICBM fired across the Pacific Ocean.

South Korea and Japan also issued statements complaining that the North Korean test was in violation of the UN Security Council, though it isn’t entirely clear this was the case. North Korea is presenting this purely as a defensive test.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.