(NBC News) – Satellite photos indicate North Korea is building a ballistic missile submarine and may be making preparations to test a submarine-launched missile, according to an analysis of the commercial images by experts at a Washington-based think tank. The photos of Sinpo South Shipyard taken Monday appear to confirm reports by North Korean state media of a “newly built submarine” inspected by the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, in July, according to Joseph Bermudez and Victor Cha of Beyond Parallel, a
research project funded by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The photos show support vessels and a crane that, similar to past practice by the regime, could be deployed to tow a barge out to sea for a submarine-launched missile test, the analysts said in a written report. But the two analysts said it was unclear when a test might be carried out, saying “there is no conclusive evidence at the moment that this is a near-term certainty.” Despite North Korea media reports claiming that the new submarine’s deployment is “near at hand,” the analysts said it is more accurate to describe the ballistic missile submarine threat as “emerging rather than imminent.” Even after it is built, it would take a year or more to test the submarine and render it fully operational, Bermudez and Cha said. CONTINUE
