North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile on Saturday but failed in the early stages of flight, said South Korean's military.
The launch happened a day after the U.S. and South Korean pledged to deploy an anti-missile system to counter threats from Pyongyang. Two days after that, North Korea warned that it was planning its toughest response to what it deemed a "declaration of war" by the United States. It was then followed by Washington's blacklisting of the nation's leader Kim Jong Un for alleged human rights abuse.
A single missile, presumed to be a SLBM, was launched off southeastern shore off Shinpo Hamkyung Namdo located in northern North Korean at around 11:30 a.m. Seoul time.
According to the report, it was confirmed that North Korea succeeded in launching off from the submarine but the ballistic missile failed in the initial part of flying.
The North has been constructing a string of military tests since January with its fourth nuclear test, including the launch of long-ranged rocket.
The U.N. Security Council imposed harsh new sanctions on the country in response to North Korea's fourth nuclear test and the long-range rocket.
According to a report on 38 North, North Korea's submarine-launched ballistic missile program is making some progress, however, the first ballistic missile submarine and operational missiles are unlikely to become operational before 2020.
Source: NBC News
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