N. Korean missile flies 300 miles, elevating threat to U.S. bases

Launch from sub significantly longer than previous tests.

A SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — ballistic missile fired from a North Korean submarine Wednesday flew more than 300 miles, the longest distance achieved by the North for such a weapon, Seoul officials said, putting all of South Korea, and possibly parts of Japan, within its striking distance.

North Korea already has a variety of land-based missiles that can hit South Korea and Japan, including U.S. military bases in those countries. But its development of reliable submarine-launched missiles would add a weapon that is harder to detect before liftoff.

South Korea’s military condemned the launch as an “armed protest” by North Korea against the start of annual South Korean-U.S. military drills, but acknowledged it was an improvement over previous tests of similar missiles.

“North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats are not imaginary threats any longer, but they’re now becoming real threats,” South Korean President Park Geun-hye said of the launch. “Those threats are coming closer each moment.”

The United Nations Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on the launch at the request of the United States and Japan.

State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said in a statement that the U.S. strongly condemned the launch and called on North Korea to “refrain from actions and rhetoric that further raise tensions in the region.” She said the missile launch marked the latest in an “accelerating campaign” of missile tests that violate multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.

“The U.S. commitment to the defense of our allies including the Republic of Korea and Japan in the face of these threats remains ironclad,” she said.

The missile, fired from a submarine off the eastern North Korean coastal town of Sinpo, reached into Japan’s air defense identification zone, according to Seoul and Tokyo officials. The U.S. Strategic Command said it tracked the launch of the presumed KN-11 missile into the Sea of Japan.

Its flight puts all of South Korea within its range if it is fired near the two countries’ border. Missiles of such capability could also potentially strike parts of Japan, including U.S. military bases on the island of Okinawa, said analyst Kim Dong-yub at Seoul’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies.

North Korea fired two missiles from submarines earlier this year, but South Korean defense officials believe they exploded in midair after flying less than 20 miles.

The launch was the latest in a series of missile, rocket and other weapon tests this year by North Korea, which is pushing to acquire reliable weapons that are capable of striking targets as far away as the continental United States.

In June, North Korea, after a string of failures, sent a midrange ballistic missile more than 870 miles high. Analysts say the flight showed North Korea has made progress in its push to be able to strike U.S. forces throughout the region.

Many outside experts say North Korea doesn’t yet have a functioning long-range nuclear missile capable of reaching the continental U.S., but they acknowledge that the North has been making steady progress in its weapons programs and could one day develop such a weapon.

About 28,500 U.S. troops are based in South Korea and tens of thousands of more in Japan. Some civilian experts have said they believe the North already has the technology to put warheads on shorter-range missiles that could strike South Korea and Japan.