TOKYO (Reuters) – The ballistic missile North Korea launched last week appears to be the same model as the submarine-launched missile Pyongyang tested last October, Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi said on Tuesday.
North Korea fired a ballistic missile from a submarine on Saturday, days before the inauguration of new South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to South Korea and Japan.
“The missile launched this time appears to be the same model as the new submarine-launched missile fired on Oct. 19, 2021,” Kishi told a regular news conference.
“The string of missile launches while the invasion of Ukraine is under way is unacceptable,” Kishi said.
North Korea last October test-fired a new, smaller ballistic missile from a submarine, a move that analysts said could be aimed at more quickly fielding an operational missile submarine.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
