North Korea ready for WW3? Satellite images reveal submarine missile launcher site – Express.co.uk

Commercial satellite imagery has identified the second submarine missile site at the Nampo Naval Shipyard on North Koreas west coast, according to thinktank 38 North which monitors the secretive state.

The watchdog says the discovery of the second launcher could indicate Kim Jong-un has stepped up his submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) programme.

The test stand barge is reportedly similar in size to previous Russian models which can be used to conduct underwater tests for new submarine missile launch systems before they are installed in submarines.

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Figure 1. Activity continues at the North Portal

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If both barges were acquired at the same time, it would imply that Pyongyang had planned a more extensive test program than it has so far conducted

Joseph S Bermudez Junior from 38 North

Joseph S Bermudez Junior from 38 North said: The discovery of a second missile test barge may have a number of implications for the future of North Koreas SLBM program that appears to be an important priority for Kim Jong-un.

A key consideration is the timing of the acquisition of the barges. If both were acquired at the same time, it would imply that Pyongyang had planned a more extensive test programme than it has so far conducted.

However, since the second barge seems to have been acquired three years after the first, this could mean that North Korea is planning to accelerate its SLBM test program to include a west coast component or develop new SLBM designs, or that it may deploy a ballistic missile submarine with the West Sea Fleet.

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None of these possibilities are mutually exclusive.

It is unclear if the barge was manufactured in North Korea, but 38 North says a survey of the Norths naval shipways suggest the barge was imported into the country.

38 North said: The barge appears identical in size (9m by 22.5m) and layout to the original barge that was first seen in 2014 at the Sinpo South Shipyard on the countrys east coast, which has been involved in at least four, and maybe as many as six, launches of the Pukguksong-1 (KN-11) SLBM since then.

The satellite images are the latest in a series suggesting there could be fresh activity at Kim Jong-uns test sites.

Last month chilling images revealed unusually high levels of activity at Kim Jong-uns Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site.

Experts say the images could mean a nuclear test is imminent as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson calls for North Korea to destroy its nuclear arsenal.

North Korea has conducted five declared and remotely detected underground nuclear tests at its dedicated nuclear test site at Punggye-ri in mountainous terrain in the northeast of the country over the last decade.

The discovery comes as the White House says it does not see US President Donald Trump holding a meeting with Kim Jong-un any time soon.

After Mr Trump told Bloomberg News he would be honoured to meet with Kim, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters the US would need to see North Korea's provocative behaviour ratcheted down immediately.

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North Korea suggested yesterday it will continue its nuclear weapons tests, saying it will bolster its nuclear force "to the maximum" in a "consecutive and successive way at any moment" in the face of what it calls US aggression and hysteria.

Mr Trump has said a major, major conflict with North Korea is possible over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, while China said last week the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control.

In a show of force, the US has sent the nuclear-powered USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group to waters off the Korean peninsula to join drills with South Korea to counter a series of threats of destruction from North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The Japanese have sent the Izumo to safeguard US naval manoeuvres in the region such as refuelling the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group.

Shinzo Abe, Japans Prime Minister, has warned Kim Jong-Un represents a serious threat as missiles are launched towards his country.

A spokesman for North Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by its official KCNA news agency: Now that the U.S. is kicking up the overall racket for sanctions and pressure against the DPRK, pursuant to its new DPRK policy called 'maximum pressure and engagement', the DPRK will speed up at the maximum pace the measure for bolstering its nuclear deterrence.

The measures for bolstering the nuclear force to the maximum will be taken in a consecutive and successive way at any moment and any place decided by its supreme leadership.

North Korea test-launched a missile on Saturday which Washington and Seoul said was unsuccessful.

Tension on the Korean peninsula has been high for weeks over fears the North may conduct a long-range missile test, or its sixth nuclear test, around the time of the April 15 anniversary of its state founder's birth.

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North Korea ready for WW3? Satellite images reveal submarine missile launcher site - Express.co.uk