Stars and Stripes:
North Korea’s ballistic missile-launching submarine appears to have been out to sea recently, a Washington-based think tank says, though it’s unclear whether a test is imminent.
The news comes at the end of a year in which the communist nation conducted two underground nuclear tests and a number of missile launches, including three from a sub.
Satellite images taken this month of the North’s Sinpo South Shipyard show that netting previously covering the GORAE-class experimental ballistic missile submarine and submersible test barge is missing, said an analysis published Monday by 38 North, a website run by Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.
Equipment and supplies are visible near the vessel, suggesting it had either recently been at sea or was being prepared to head out soon, the website said.
However, the analysis said it’s impossible to determine whether a submarine-launched ballistic missile test is in the cards since the sub and test barge could be sent out for a variety of reasons, including “certification of personnel or validation of repairs.”
