White House mum on third North Korean test of SLBM

Special to WorldTribune.com

Bill Gertz, Washington Free Beacon

North Korea recently conducted a third test of a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) that is part of Pyongyang’s expanding nuclear arsenal, according to American defense officials.

An earlier test of a North Korean submarine-launched missile.
An earlier test of a North Korean submarine-launched missile.

The underwater ejection test of what the Pentagon is calling the KN-11 missile took place April 22 from an underwater test platform near the North Korean coastal city of Sinpo, located on the southeastern coast of the country about 100 miles from the Demilitarized Zone separating it from South Korea.

Development of the new missile, first disclosed by the Washington Free Beacon, is being carried out at the North’s Sinpo South Shipyard. … The ejection test, which was gauged to have been successful by U.S. intelligence agencies, is the third known test of the new submarine missile, indicating the missile program is a high-priority for the communist regime of Kim Jong Un.

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Jeffrey Pool declined to comment, suggesting details of the test are classified.

Current and former national security officials criticized the Obama administration for not doing more to counter the North Korean nuclear threat to the United States. “This missile, along with the KN-08, happened on Obama’s watch and nothing has been done,” said a U.S. intelligence official critical of the Obama administration.

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