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N. Korea releases video of recent SLBM test

January 8, 2016

(Yonhap)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — North Korea released a video footage of a new submarine-based ballistic missile test Friday in which a fired missile flew a longer distance than the country’s similar test last year.

A new documentary aired by state-run (North) Korean Central Broadcasting Station featured leader Kim Jong-un giving field guidance during an SLBM ejection test the country is reported to have conducted on Dec. 21 in the East Sea.

Kim, sporting a winter coat and a fedora aboard a military vessel, watched the ejection test in the undated video footage, apparently designed to show off the country’s nuclear capability after its fourth nuclear test earlier this week.

In the video, a missile shot off from a submarine almost in a clear vertical angle and ignited with a boom some 40 meters off the surface of the sea before disappearing into the clouds.

It seemed to be clear progress from the country’s SLBM ejection test in May when a fired missile flew 200 meters at a 45-degree angle.

Having watching the video, one intelligence official said the North doesn’t yet seem to have completed the development of an SLBM.

“The country seems to be in the stage of the ejection testing, but not in the completion stage,” the official said, adding that the country may still need more time before reaching completion.

Earlier this week, the Washington Free Beacon reported that North Korea succeeded in the underwater testing of a KN-11 missile near the eastern port of Sinpo on Dec. 21, citing unidentified U.S. defense officials.