N. Korea test-fires new missile from submarine

Seoul: North Korea on Thursday said that it has successfully test-fired a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), boasting that the success “ushered in a new phase” in its self-defence capabilities just two days before resuming nuclear talks with the US.
The move marks a significant escalation from the short-range tests Pyongyang has conducted since May.
The North’s Academy of Defence Science succeeded in test-firing the “new-type SLBM Pukguksong-3” in the waters off Wonsan Bay of the East Sea on Wednesday, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, adding that the missile was fired “in vertical mode”.
“The test-firing scientifically and technically confirmed the key tactical and technical indexes of the newly-designed ballistic missile and had no adverse impact on the security of neighbouring countries,” KCNA said.
“The successful new-type SLBM test-firing comes to be of great significance as it ushered in a new phase in containing the outside forces’ threat to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and further bolstering its military muscle for self-defence,” added the report.
According to South Korean officials, the missile flew about 450 km and reached an altitude of 910 km before landing in the sea. That means the missile flew twice as high as the International Space Station, but previous North Korean tests have gone higher.