North and South Korea launch rockets at intervals of several hours

Both North Korea and South Korea tested ballistic missiles overnight ET, several hours apart. And while the North Korean trials are likely to get the most Western media attention on Wednesday, the South Korean trials were perhaps the most visible because they were carried out from a submarine – an incredibly difficult feat that only six other countries have successfully tackled. …

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles off its east coast in tests that took place shortly after 11:30 pm ET Tuesday (12:30 pm Wednesday in North Korea). The type of missiles has not yet been determined. Korea Herald… The test was the second this week for North Korea to test long-range cruise missiles. on the weekend…

The South Korean missile test was carried out just hours after North Korea’s test on Wednesday and featured cutting-edge technology. The test involved a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), and South Korean President Moon Jae-in was even present at the test, according to Yonhap News Agency…

According to the South Korean government, President Moon was aboard the new Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine when the missile was tested at the ADD Anheung test center in South Chuncheon province. And the country is heralding this as a new way to militarily contain North Korea during the New Cold War.

“The possession of SLBMs is very important in terms of deterrence against omnidirectional threats and is expected to play a large role in self-reliant national defense and peace in the Korean Peninsula in the future,” the Moon administration said in a statement. Yonhap.

Although South Korea is only the seventh country in the world to successfully launch a submarine-launched ballistic missile, it is the only country in the same class that does not have its own nuclear weapons. The United States, Russia, China, India, Britain and France have both SLBMs and nuclear weapons. North Korea has developed nuclear submarine capabilities, which have been demonstrated in paradesalthough it is unclear whether any SLBMs have been successfully tested by North Korea.

Submarine-launched nuclear weapons are part of America’s so-called nuclear triad strategy, which includes three ways to launch nuclear weapons: by land, by air, and by sea. And while South Korea does not currently have nuclear weapons that the world knows about, that doesn’t mean they can’t join the club soon.