TACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Photos released by KCNA showed one missile blasting vertically out of the sea, trailed by a thick plume of smoke. Another photo appeared to show a projectile erupting from the water at a 45-degree angle.
Other images showed a missile flying horizontally over the sea, as well as a submarine travelling on the water’s surface.
The North’s ability to launch missiles from submarines at two different angles carries “tactical significance”, Hong Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification told AFP, as the two launch methods serve different purposes.
“Vertical launches allow missiles to climb steeply before descending towards their targets, potentially extending their range,” he said.
“Angled launches, on the other hand, allow missiles to fly at lower altitudes from the outset, making them harder for missile defence systems to detect and intercept.”
North Korea has carried out multiple ballistic missile tests in October, most recently on Monday.
The two Koreas have engaged in a tit-for-tat series of missile tests this month, with both sides test-firing hypersonic weapons.
South Korea test-fired its first homegrown hypersonic glide vehicle last week, days after Pyongyang said it had launched an AI-assisted intermediate-range hypersonic missile.
Seoul and Pyongyang remain technically at war as the Korean conflict ended in 1953 with a truce rather than a peace treaty.
