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North Korea Tests Submarine Ballistic Missile

posted by takyon on Sunday May 10 2015, @01:25AM   
from the kim-jong-underwater dept.

Hugh Pickens writes:

USA Today reports that under the watchful eyes of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea says it has conducted an underwater test-firing of a submarine ballistic missile. Kim called the missile a "world-level strategic weapon" and an "eye-opening success." Although American officials had suspected North Korea was developing such a missile system, the country had not previously claimed to have conducted a test launching. The test, if confirmed, would pose a new challenge to the United States and its regional allies, South Korea and Japan, which have been trying to build missile defense capabilities to guard against potential North Korean missile attacks.

The news of a successful test-fire was most likely a surprise to South Korean military officials, who have privately told reporters that they believed it would take years for the North to develop such a submarine-launched ballistic missile. "North Korea's development of a submarine-launched missile capability would eventually expand Pyongyang's threat to South Korea, Japan and U.S. bases in East Asia" says Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. "Submarines carrying land-attack missiles would be challenging to locate and track, would be mobile assets able to attack from any direction, and could operate at significant distances from the Korean peninsula."

See also: BBC, Reuters, The Guardian, Washington Post.

• "excuse to spend more money on the military" "excuse to spend more money on the military" (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 10 2015, @06:44AM

  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 10 2015, @06:44AM (#181013)

  Something you left out:
  To match the military might of the USA, you would have to COMBINE the #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, and #11 most powerful militaries.
  ...and several of those are USA allies.

  The level of insanity is mind-boggling.
  The only things USA manufactures any more is weapons.
  USA is an empire in a death spiral.

  -- gewg_

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• In 1989, the US had a bigger military... (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday May 10 2015, @10:26AM

  by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Sunday May 10 2015, @10:26AM (#181049) Homepage Journal

  ... than the entire rest of the world COMBINED.

  I learned that from a certain left-wing radical underground publication known as "The CIA World Factbook".

  --
  Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]

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