North Korea tests suspected submarine-launched missile, South Korean military says

North Koreaflight-tested a ballistic missilethat was likely fired from a submarine on Saturday, South Korea's military said, apparently continuing a provocative streak in weapons demonstrations that may culminate with a nuclear test in the coming weeks or months.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch occurred from waters near the eastern port city of Sinpo, where North Korea has a major shipyard building submarines.

It said the short-range missile flew 600 kilometres at a maximum altitude of 60 kilometres,but it didn't immediately provide details about the submarine that would have been involved in the launch.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered officials to prepare for all "unforeseeable situations" and secure the safety of aircraft and ships, but there were no immediate reports of damages.

No immediate threat to U.S.

The U.S. military's Indo-Pacific Command said it a statement that while the launch did not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to its allies, it "highlights the destabilizing impact of [North Korea's]illicit weapons program. The U.S. commitment to the defence of [South Korea] and Japan remains ironclad."

Japanese Defence Minister Nobu Kishitold reporters that the missile fell outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone and that no damage to aircraft or vessels was reported.

South Korea's national security director Suh Hoon and other senior officials during an emergency meeting denounced the launch and urged North Korea to return to long-stalled talks aimed at defusing the nuclear standoff, Seoul's presidential office said.

Itwas apparently North Korea's first demonstration of a submarine-fired ballistic system since October last year when it test-launched a new short-range missile from the 8.24 Yongung its only known submarine capable of launchinga missile.The October underwater launch was the North's first in two years.

On Wednesday, the South Korean and Japanese militaries detected the North firing a suspected ballistic missile from near its capital, Pyongyang.Both exercises come ahead ofthe inauguration of South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who has vowed to take a tougher approach over the North's nuclear ambitions.

Yoon's office said in a statement that his government will pursue "actual deterrence ability" against the North's nuclear and missile threat, but didn't specify how. Yoon has vowed to strengthen South Korea's defence in conjunction with its alliance with the United States, which he said would include enhancing missile striking capabilities.

15 missile tests in 2022

So far this year, North Korea has fired missiles 15 times. They include the country'sfirst test of an intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017 that demonstrated potential range to reach the entirety of the U.S. mainland.

North Korea has been clearly exploiting a favourable environment to push forward its weapons program with the UNSecurity Council divided and effectively paralyzed over Russia's war on Ukraine. The unusually fast pace in testing activity underscores a brinkmanship aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power and remove crippling sanctions, experts say.

There are also signs that North Korea is restoring tunnels at a nuclear testing ground, where it had conducted its sixth and last nuclear test in September 2017, in possible preparations for another explosive test. Analysts say the North could use another nuclear test to claim it acquired an ability to build small nuclear warheads for expanding its range of shorter-range weapons threatening South Korea and Japan, or put a cluster of bombs on a multiwarhead ICBM.

Jalina Porter, the U.S. State Department's deputy spokesperson, said during a briefing Friday that the United States assesses that North Korea could be ready to conduct a nuclear test at its Punggye-ri test site as early as this month.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has punctuated his missile tests with statements warning that the North could proactively use its nuclear weapons if threatened or provoked. Experts say such rhetoric possibly portends an escalatory nuclear doctrine that would create greater concerns for South Korea and Japan.

Kim made one of those statements during an April 25 parade in Pyongyang where he showcased the most notable weapons in his military nuclear program, including ICBMs and what appeared to be a new type of missile designed to be fired from submarines that appeared to be larger than previous models.

"[North Korea's]submarine technology probably remains short of being able to stay at sea for extended periods while avoiding detection. But the ability to launch ballistic missiles from a submarine would further complicate missions to neutralize and defend against North Korea's nuclear forces," said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Seoul's Ewha Womans University.

He said the Kim regime appears to be preparing to test a miniaturized nuclear device that it can use to arm its submarine-launched or tactical missiles, and multiple warheads on its ICBMs.