A South Korean lawmaker said Monday that North Korea appears to have failed to launch an underwater ballistic missile Saturday.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that Joo Ho-young, chair of the parliamentary intelligence committee, said that the National Intelligence Service was unable to track the trajectory of the submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), which was test-launched by North Korea Saturday afternoon off the coast of Wonsan, a port city on the country’s east coast.
"We assume the North failed to launch the missile as its trajectory cannot be verified at all," Joo stated after receiving a briefing from the National Intelligence Service.
South Korea’s spy agency also said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is presumed to have watched the failed SLBM test launch Saturday.
Any firing or testing of ballistic missiles by North Korea constitutes a violation of United Nations sanctions against the country.
The news comes just days before the vice ministers from North and South Korea are set to resume talks on improving relations. The meeting will be held on December 11 in the North Korean city of Kaesong, which is close to its border with South Korea.
North Korea claimed to have successfully test-launched a SLBM in May, but U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that the test was more of an ejection test. That missile flew about 328 feet out of the water. Kim Jong-Un reportedly observed the launch in May as well.