North Korea Downplays South Korea's SLBM Technology... Issues Warning to "Watch Intentions"

Jang Chang-ha, Director of the Agency for Defense Development, Revealed in Chosun Central News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] "The submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) based on South Korea's own technology, revealed by South Korea, cannot be an effective military attack means in war."

Jang Chang-ha, director of the National Defense Science Institute, belittled South Korea's first SLBM submarine test launch on the 15th in an article titled "South Korea's Clumsy Underwater Launched Ballistic Missile" published by the Korean Central News Agency on the 20th.

Director Jang said, "It is not yet at a stage to be regarded as a threatening means with strategic and tactical value," and added, "Considering the missile that South Korea revealed and heavily advertised as an underwater launched ballistic missile, it is only at a rudimentary crawling stage."

He also analyzed the SLBM test launch footage in detail. He asserted, "It is a poorly made weapon that is far from an underwater weapon, simply put, it does not have a proper form," and "It was definitely not a submarine-launched ballistic missile. I judge it to be a tactical ballistic missile with a range of less than 500 km."

In particular, he claimed, "Just attaching folding wings to the projectile shows it is at an elementary stage," and "It means that the core underwater launch technology, including complex fluid flow analysis, has not yet been completed." This is interpreted as a resentful view of South Korea surpassing North Korea and officially becoming the world's seventh SLBM-operating country.

North Korea succeeded in underwater test launches of the SLBM 'Pukguksong-1' in 2015 and 'Pukguksong-3' in 2019, and unveiled new SLBMs such as 'Pukguksong-4ㅅ' in October last year and 'Pukguksong-5ㅅ' in January at military parades, but it is known that they have not yet conducted direct SLBM test launches from submarines.

Director Jang said, "We also went through these (development) processes," and claimed, "Most of the underwater launched ballistic missiles possessed by countries including ours realize thrust vector control through rotating nozzles."

North Korea also did not forget to warn about South Korea's weapon development. He added, "We are paying attention to South Korea's obsession with developing submarine weapon systems and observing their intentions," and "This foretells increased military tension on the Korean Peninsula, while simultaneously reawakening us and clearly showing what we must do."

South Korea's independently developed SLBM submarine launch test was first successful on the 15th. The SLBM was loaded on the Dosan Ahn Changho-class (3,000-ton) submarine delivered to the Navy on August 13 and was launched underwater, flying the planned range and accurately hitting the target point. The success of the SLBM submarine launch test is the seventh in the world, following the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, and India.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.