Is North Korea about to fire a submarine missile? Fresh activity is seen at test site as Kim Jong-un refuses to blink over US threats
Activity spotted at North Korean submarine testing site in satellite images
It mirrors preparations carried out last year ahead of successful missile test
Movement came as Trump warned against any more ‘overt threats’ to the US
President said American weapons are ‘locked and loaded’ in case of provocation
By CHRIS PLEASANCE
DAILYMAIL.COM
12 August 2017
North Korea could be preparing to carry out a submarine missile test in defiance of President Trump’s attempts to bring the rogue nation to heel.
Satellite images taken on Monday shows activity at a test site which mirrors preparations ahead of the country’s last test of their Pukguksong-1 submarine-launched ballistic missile in August last year.
The images were released after President Trump said American weapons are ‘locked and loaded’ in case Kim Jong-un makes any more ‘overt threats’ toward the US.
Joseph Bermudez, a specialist in North Korean defense and intelligence affairs, posted photographs on the authoritative 38 North blog of the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University.
‘Recent commercial satellite imagery reveals several developments suggesting that North Korea may be accelerating the development of the sea-based leg of its nuclear forces,’ he said.
Activity on a SINPO-class experimental ballistic missile submarine at the Mayang-do navy shipyard and submarine base, he said, suggests ‘that the North may be preparing for a new series of ‘at sea’ test launches, has undertaken modifications or upgrades to the submarine’s launch systems, or is developing a more advanced version of the Pukguksong-1.’
The Pukguksong-1 is an SLBM that was first successfully test-launched on August 24, 2016.
That missile flew 500km (300 miles) towards Japan, which leader Kim Jong-Un said at the time put the US mainland within striking range from a Pacific-based submarine.
Bermudez said the preparations at the submarine in recent weeks match those ahead of previous tests.
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