North Korea is either a nuisance or a growing threat to world peace. Today North Korea fired a submarine launched ballistic missile from a port off its east coast to a point more than halfway to Tokyo. "The missile was fired at around 5:30am (local time) from near the coastal city of Sinpo, where satellite imagery shows a submarine base to be located, and flew about 500 kilometres before splashing into the Sea of Japan, US and South Korean officials said. The projectile landed in Japan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ), an area of control designated by countries to help maintain air security, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported."North Korea's "SLBM (submarine-launched ballistic missile) technology appears to have progressed," a South Korean military official said." The North Korean missile is based on the Soviet Russian R-27. It's primary targets are clearly Japan and South Korea. Wikipedia writes "the KN-11 is the first sign of a North Korean sea-based nuclear deterrent, which complicates the U.S. and South Korean ability to preemptively destroy the country's nuclear capabilities by threatening a second strike. While there is a chance to take out land-based nuclear sites, ballistic missile submarines ensure that a retaliatory strike could still be launched before it can be found and neutralized."
| I have a mission for the US attack submarine fleet, assuming we still have any... |