Status: 10/20/2021 8:33 a.m.
North Korea has successfully tested a submarine-based ballistic missile, according to state media. This brings the “defense technology to a high level,” it said. The UN Security Council wants to discuss this.
According to information from Pyongyang, the missile last tested by the North Korean military is a submarine-supported ballistic missile. The state news agency KCNA wrote of a “new type” missile which “brings the country’s defense technology to a high level and improves the underwater operational capability of our navy”.
According to the photos published by KCNA, it is a rather small missile with a presumably short range. Experts therefore do not see the test as a groundbreaking development step for the North Korean missile program. This is also underpinned by the fact that, according to previous knowledge, the ruler Kim Jong Un did not attend the missile test.
Eight missile tests this year
UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from testing ballistic missiles, which, depending on their design, can also carry a nuclear warhead. The country, which is subject to international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program, has already tested at least eight missiles this year, including what it claims to be a so-called hypersonic missile.
UN Security Council wants to advise
Envoys from the governments of South Korea, Japan and the USA met in Washington on Monday to discuss the North Korean nuclear program. The US envoy Sung Kim condemned the recent use of a “ballistic missile” and called on North Korea to refrain from further provocations and to engage in political talks.
According to diplomats, the UN Security Council is discussing the latest missile test today. The most powerful UN body wants to meet behind closed doors in the afternoon, New York time, at the request of the USA and Great Britain.