N. Korea - fires submarine-launched ballistic missile into East Sea: ARIRANG NEWS

ARIRANG NEWS

Published on Aug 23, 2016

북한 SLBM 1발 동해로 발사
We start with news of yet another provocation by North Korea...

The regime has again test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine,... in clear defiance of an international ban.
The South Korean military says the launch is an armed protest against joint military drills between South Korea and the U.S., which started earlier this week.

Let's get the latest from our Kim Hyun-bin,... who's standing by at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul.
Hyun-bin.

Good morning, Da-eun.

Ministry officials say they tracked the submarine-launched ballistic missile as it traveled some five-hundred kilometers before coming down in the East Sea.

The S-L-B-M was fired from a submarine in waters off the eastern city of Sinpo at around 5:30 am, South Korea time.

Officials added that the missile breached Japan's Air Defense Identification zone by about 80 kilometers.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says the launch is a clear violation of UN Security Council Resolutions that ban the North from conducting these kind of tests.

Officials believe the firing was an armed protest against the annual South Korea-U.S. military drill known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian, which started on Monday.

North Korea, which had earlier threatened to retaliate,... sees the exercise as a rehearsal for a northward invasion,... but Seoul and Washington insist the drills are purely defensive in nature.

We must also note that this launch comes as the foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan and China are due for talks in Tokyo.

The South Korean military says North Korea has made improvements in terms of its SLBM technology compared to previous launches,... adding that an SLBM that flies more than three-hundred kilometers can be deemed a success.

Officials say the military will remain on high alert and is ready to counter any further provocations.

North Korea's SLBM development poses an extra threat to regional stability and South Korea's national security as the missiles are practically impossible to detect before launch.

The presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae held a National Security Council standing committee meeting shortly after the launch... lead by security chief Kim Kwan-jin, to assess the situation and discuss countermeasures.

Back to you.

It's alarming that it breached Japan's Air Defense Identification zone, but I guess what's even more alarming is that North Korea appears to be advancing in its missile technologies.

Thank you Hyun-bin for that,… bring us more analysis later in the day.