N. Korea Leader Hails ’Miracle’ Missile Test

Local Editor

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un had hailed the recent test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile [SLBM] - which was viewed with wary skepticism outside the reclusive state - as a miraculous leap forward.

The North's official KCNA news agency reported Tuesday that Kim hosted a gathering of the scientists and technicians who were behind the test that was announced with great fanfare earlier this month.

It said Kim congratulated them for producing an "eye-opening miracle" and a "historical event" that had left the country with a powerful strategic weapon.

Further, a fully developed SLBM capability would take the North Korean nuclear threat to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and the potential to retaliate in the event of a nuclear attack.

But experts had questioned the authenticity of the recent test, saying photos of the launch had been digitally manipulated and suggesting the missile was probably fired from a sunken platform rather than a submarine.

Although the North clearly was set on developing a working SLBM, the expert consensus was that it remained years from acquiring such a capability.

However, North Korea is under UN sanctions over launching rockets considered by the West as ballistic missiles aimed at delivering nuclear warheads.

Whether the test was exaggerated or not, South Korea said Tuesday it had requested a UN investigation into whether it constituted a sanctions violation.

Consequently, North Korea had been ramping up its nuclear rhetoric of late, boasting last week of its ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead to fit on a missile.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team