US sides with S. Korean intel on number of SLBMs launched by N. Korea

Japan claims that the launch on Oct. 19 consisted of two missiles, while South Korea and the US maintain that only one was launched

A submarine-launched ballistic missile launched by North Korea flies upward from underwater on Oct. 19. (KCNA/Yonhap News)

The US Department of Defense on Monday in Washington said North Korea launched a single projectile on Oct. 19 amid a disagreement between military authorities in South Korea and Japan over the number.

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said during a press conference Monday that “we've already made it clear that we've noted with deep concern the [North's] recent ballistic missile launch. We've referred to it as a singular launch," answering a question on Seoul and Tokyo's differing views on the number.

Kirby, however, did not mention the grounds for Washington's stance.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said after the North's test launch on the morning of Oct. 19, "At around 10:17 am, North Korea launched an unidentified short-range ballistic missile presumed to be an SLBM (submarine-launched ballistic missile) from the east coast in Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province, into the East Sea. Additional specifications and characteristics are being closely analyzed by [South] Korean and US intelligence."

The Japanese Ministry of Defense, however, insisted that two launches occurred in two documents released that night. "One projectile is believed to have flown anomalously at a maximum altitude of about 50 km, traveled about 600 km and fallen into the [East Sea] on the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula. We are analyzing the distance traveled by the other rocket."

The tense relationship between Seoul and Tokyo has prevented honest exchanges of information and opinions between their militaries.

How Japan concluded that two launches occurred remains unclear. But Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies of Kyungnam University, stated on his Facebook page on Oct. 20 that the 8.24 Yongung — the North Korean submarine that reportedly shot the projectile — can fire just one at a time.

"Back when the North test-fired the Pukguksong-3 in October 2019, Japan also claimed that two launches occurred," he added. "Perhaps it was a tracking mistake caused by a propellant part that separated from the ballistic missile."

By Gil Yun-hyung, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]