South Korean SLBM Satire, North Korea Says It Has Not Become A Threat And Imitates Indian Missiles

North Korean flag illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/John Pavelka)

JAKARTA - North Korea's think-thank quips that the ship-based ballistic missile, which South Korea has successfully piloted, is still in its infancy and rudimentary, although it will reignite cross-border tensions.

North and South Korea have "reciprocated" missile tests over the past two weeks, amid efforts to defuse relations between the two countries.

Jang Chang-ha, head of the National Academy of Defense Sciences, a North Korean-run arms development and procurement center, said in a commentary on the official KCNA news agency that media photos of the latest South Korean missiles showed 'sloppy'. It is even referred to as an amorphous weapon, usually a submarine-fired ballistic missile (SLBM).

"The missile appears to be South Korea's version of the Hyunmoo surface-to-surface ballistic missile, with a mock warhead part of India's K-15 SLBM," Jang said, citing Reuters Monday, September 20.

Test photos show South Korea has not yet achieved key technologies for underwater launches, including complex fluid flow analysis, Jang said.

"In short, it should be called a clumsy job. If it was SLBM, it would only be in the rudimentary baby stage," said Jang. South Korea's Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jang said the weapon has not yet reached a phase where it has strategic and tactical value, so it could pose a threat to North Korea. Nevertheless, he still questions the purpose of the missile development that is taking place in the Ginseng Country.

"South Korea's enthusiastic efforts to upgrade its submarine weapons systems clearly signal the rising military tensions on the Korean peninsula," Jang said.

"And at the same time, it wakes us up again and makes us sure of what we have to do."

Jang's comments come days after Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, mocked South Korea, which criticized the North's moves to develop its own missiles as a routine defense measure.