Pukguksong-6 Small SLBM
North Korean media said the country test-fired "a new type submarine-launched ballistic missile," or SLBM, on 19 October 2021. The ruling Workers' Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on 20 October 2021 that the Academy of Defense Science carried out the launch. The newspaper published photos of an ascending missile ejecting orange flames, and a submarine emerging above the waterline.
"The new type SLBM, into which lots of advanced control guidance technologies including flank mobility and gliding skip mobility are introduced, will greatly contribute to putting the defence technology of the country on a high level and to enhancing the underwater operational capability of our navy," KCNA said. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was not reported to have attended the test.
Japan's Defense Ministry said one of two ballistic missiles fired by North Korea on 19 October 2021 may have been a submarine-launched ballistic missile, or SLBM. The ministry said the North fired ballistic missiles at around 10:15 and 10:16 a.m. Japan Time, eastward from near the North's eastern city of Sinpo. The missile launches marked the third such exercise in the space of just over a month and the fourth time that the North has fired missiles this year. All four had either been confirmed as ballistic missiles or are thought likely to have been of that type.
North Korea watchers cited a possibility that a new, small-sized SLBM, capable of striking targets in the South or Japan, might have been fired from a 2,000-ton submarine. "If you look at the launch site and the missile details, the possibility is that it could be a new-type, small SLBM developed with an intention to attack vulnerable areas in the South, such as the rear and sides," Shin Jong-woo, a senior analyst at the Korea Defense Security Forum, said.
In recent years, Pyongyang has boasted of its development of various SLBMs, including the "Pukguksong-4" and the "Pukguksong-5," which were unveiled during military parades in October 2020 and January 2021, respectively. The new missile launched 19 October 2021, probably designated "Pukguksong-6", appears to be a sea-launched variant on the KN-23 rail-mobile medium-range solid-fuel missile with a hypersonic glide vehicle warhead.
The Japanese Prime Minister's mention of two missiles was inconsistent with the observations of other countries in the region, but the reason for that was not immediately known. The ministry said one of the missiles reached an altitude of 50 kilometers and flew on an irregular trajectory for about 600 kilometers before falling into the Sea of Japan outside Japan's exclusive economic zone. The ministry said if the missile was an SLBM, it would be the first launched by the North since October 2, 2019 and the fifth overall.
South Korea's military said North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from off its east coast on 19 October 2021, pulling Japan's new prime minister off the campaign trail and overshadowing the opening of a major arms fair in Seoul. South Korea was unusually quick to identify the missile as a ballistic missile and issue a statement from the National Security Council. The launch, reported by officials in South Korea and Japan, came after US and South Korean envoys met in Washington to discuss the nuclear standoff with North Korea. Spy chiefs from the United States, South Korea, and Japan were reported to be meeting in Seoul as well.
The North Korean launch was the latest weapons test by the country, which has pressed ahead with military development in the face of international sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons and missile programs. The missile was launched about 10:17 a.m. local time from the sea in the vicinity of Sinpo, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, where North Korea keeps submarines as well as equipment for test firing SLBMs. It was not immediately clear whether the missile was fired from a submarine or from a submersible test barge, as in most previous tests.
The missile flew about 430-450 kilometers to a maximum altitude of 60 kilometers, Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unnamed source. Other sources said the missile flew about 590 kilometers and reached an altitude of about 60 kilometers. They also pointed to the possibility that the missile may have split into two during its flight. Japan's Defense Ministry said one of the missiles reached an altitude of 50 kilometers and flew on an irregular trajectory for about 600 kilometers before falling into the Sea of Japan outside Japan's exclusive economic zone. This might reflect the employment of a range-extending boost-glide vehicle in the terminal phase of the trajectory.
Kim Dong-yup, a former South Korea Navy officer who is a professor at Kyungnam University's Far East Institute in Seoul, said the latest test likely involved one of the SLBMs recently unveiled by North Korea. The North displayed new Pukguksong-4 and Pukguksong-5 SLBMs during its military parades in October and January, respectively, and a previously unseen, smaller missile was spotted at the October 2021 defense fair in Pyongyang. Seemingly it was this missile that was tested
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff say the missile is presumed to have been a submarine launched ballistic missile fired from a location off the eastern port city of Sinpo toward the Sea of Japan. If the missile was an SLBM, it would be the first such launch by North Korea since October 2019, when they test-fired one labeled a Pukguksong-3 from waters near the eastern city of Wonsan.
The new weapon appears to be the mini-SLBM first showcased at the rare defense exhibition held in Pyongyang 11 October 2021 to mark the 76th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. The “Defense Development Exhibit” – which Kim called a “historic demonstration” of his country’s national strength “no less than a parade large-scale military “- featured an array of weapons that Kim said have been developed over the past five years. These include two as yet untested projectiles: the Hwasong-16 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), which is among the largest in the world, and the Pukguksong-5 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), which had debuted in a military parade in January 2021, and the Pukguksong-4 during military parades in October 2020.
The North displayed a new, and previously unseen, smaller missile at the defence fair in Pyongyang. The missile featured a huge donut at the base of the missile, which covers the bottom of the new SLBM. After cold launch, the bottom cover is dumped, after which the missile deploys the steering fins of the main body and ignites the motor. The bottom cover has grid fins, which retard its forward motion, and ensures separation from the rocket. The bottom cover enlarges the circumference of the missile, presumably to facilitate a snug fit of the folded steering wings in the launching tube, which was designed for the larger diameter Pukguksong-1 missile.
Some missiles use a “hot launch” technique in which the engines are fired at liftoff, but this is not practical for a submerged launch from a submarine. Submarine launched ballittic missiles use a “cold launch” system in which the missile is pushed out of the launch tube by expanding gasses and the engines ignite after it is above the water surface. This system does not require additional volume within the launcher for exhaust plume control, making it feasible to launch from a confined space. Unlike hot launch systems, a cold launch also lowers the possibility of damage or destruction of the submarine in theevent of missile failures, since they would happen in mid-flight rather than at launch.
An obturator ring has the function of a sealing ring, with which its full sealing performance is only achieved under appropriate pressure loading. When passing through the launch tube, due to the design conditions, a temporary form-fitting connection is made of rearward displaced driving band material with the obturator ring. However, this form-fitting connection may be removed mechanically, but this is not sufficiently reliable, which can sometimes lead to significant losses in accuracy. Obturator ring damage can occur, hence the grid fins to retard the forward motion of the obturator.
North Korea has also been working on what would be its first operational submarine capable of launching an SLBM, according to South Korean officials. It currently has an experimental ballistic missile submarine it claims was used in a 2016 test, though some analysts say that may have used a barge. The Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative has assessed that "an operational (ballistic missile submarine) and SLBM capability could provide North Korea with additional options for nuclear launch, and a hedge against destruction of its land-based nuclear systems."
Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists in Washington, told CNN SLBMs are only as good as the vessels that carry them, and the US military was more than a match for North Korea's noisy submarines. "The weak link in their submarine missile program is the submarines, and that is an enormous technical challenge for the North Koreans," he said, adding Pyongyang's vessels were so outmatched, the SLBMs were effectively a "redundant capability."
South Korea's defense minister says Pyongyang's newly tested submarine-launched ballistic missile, or SLBM, appears to be in an early stage of development. Suh Wook spoke at a parliamentary committee session on 21 October 2021. Suh said it was necessary to assess not only the missile itself but also its launch platform, such as a submarine, in determining how far Pyongyang's SLBM development has progressed. The minister said the missile may have been the mini-SLBM that was showcased at an arms exhibition in Pyongyang earlier this month. He called the missile a new threat, but added it can be intercepted.
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