North Korea’s push to develop a submarine-launched ballistic missile is posing a daunting security challenge to South Korea and the U.S. as the allies would have almost no means to counter the emerging threat should it become fully operational.
The allies have so far been focusing on countering missile threats from land-based launchers as they believed Pyongyang was far from developing an SLBM given the small size of its submarines and outdated technology.
But the North’s test-firing last week showed that the communist regime was close to completing the development of the strategic SLBM. Describing the test-firing as a success, the North called the launched projectile “a world-level strategic weapon.”
“There is no effective measure to counter the SLBM for now. It would be, per se, a final-stage, ultimate addition to the North’s strategic weapons list,” said Park Won-gon, security expert at Handong Global University.
“Whatever top-of-the-line detection systems you have, it would be difficult to keep track of submarine movements. Obviously, there are limits when you conduct antisubmarine operations,” he added.
Seoul officials now forecast it would take four to five years for the North to fully develop and deploy the SLBM. They also think that the North will be able to build a 2,000-ton Sinpo-class submarine capable of carrying the SLBM in two to three years.
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