N.Korea confirms submarine launch of new ballistic missile

FILE PHOTO: People watch a TV broadcasting file footage of a news report on North Korea firing a ballistic missile off its east coast, in Seoul, South Korea, October 19, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea test-fired a new, smaller ballistic missile from a submarine, state media confirmed on Wednesday, a move that analysts said could be aimed at more quickly fielding an operational missile submarine.

The statement from state media came a day after South Korea's military reported https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nkorea-fires-unidentified-projectile-off-east-coast-skorea-military-2021-10-19 that it believed North Korea had fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) off its east coast, the latest in a string of North Korean missile tests.