In North Korea, work continues on the creation of ballistic missiles for submarines (SLBMs). Last Thursday, it became known about the conduct of new tests of such weapons.
Right-hand missile pic.twitter.com/vgw2Oxwcnw
— H I Sutton (@CovertShores) October 19, 2021
According to military expert Yuri Lyamin, currently only one diesel-electric submarine of the DPRK, which is a carrier of ballistic missiles, is known. This submarine was built in 2014. It was named "8.24 Engun" ("Heroes of August 24th"). In the West, it was designated as Sinpo-B or type Gorae.
Apparently, the experimental ship was specially designed and manufactured for the development of SLBMs. It was from him that the first North Korean Pukkykson-1 SLBM was launched in 2016, and three years later, the Pukkykson-3 large-sized missiles were launched.
Currently, the shipyards of the DPRK are building larger missile submarines, known as Sinpo-C. In the spring of this year, information appeared that work on the lead boat of this project has already been completed. At least, that's what American and South Korean intelligence think.
If we talk about the SLBMs themselves, the maximum range of the Pukkykson-1 is 1200-1300 km, the Pukkykson-3 is already about 1900-2000 km.
Larger SLBMs were also shown at parades, but they have not yet been tested.
As for the new missile launched on October 19, it appears to be a modification of a shorter-range ground-based ballistic missile with the ability to fly along a quasi-ballistic trajectory. This weapon, according to Lyamin, is intended primarily for strikes against targets in South Korea and Japan.
Alexey Moiseev