Did North Korea Launch Ballistic Missiles in Response to ROK SLBM Test?

The fish in the waters around Korea were under extra attack yesterday from both North and South Korean missile launches:

Wednesday's successful test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from the Navy submarine Dosan Ahn Chang-ho makes South Korea the eighth country in the world to possess the weapon. [DEFENSE MINISTRY]
Wednesday’s successful test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from the Navy submarine Dosan Ahn Chang-ho makes South Korea the eighth country in the world to possess the weapon. [DEFENSE MINISTRY]

The Korean Peninsula was the site of dueling launches on Wednesday as North Korea fired two tactical ballistic missiles around mid-day, followed by South Korea testing a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) later in the afternoon.  
   
The North fired first on Wednesday, sending two ballistic missiles into the waters east of the Korean Peninsula around 12:38 p.m. and 12:43 p.m., according to the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).  
   
The JCS said the missiles flew a distance of approximately 800 kilometers (500 miles) while reaching an altitude of 60 kilometers (37 miles).  
   
Less than three hours later, in the afternoon, South Korea followed with a scheduled submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test, according to the Defense Ministry.  
   
In addition to the SLBM, the South tested two different types of missiles on Wednesday: a long-range air-to-surface missile and a supersonic anti-ship missile, according to military authorities. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but I think it is likely the North Koreans are just making a statement that if the ROK’s are allowed to fire ballistic missiles then we are going to as well. Additionally the Kim regime is probably trying to take away headlines from the ROK for successfully testing their SLBM which is a feat the North Koreans have not been able to master yet.

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setnaffa
3 years ago

I seem to remember a “missile gap” conversation in the dim past…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missile_gap

“Missile envy” often leads to a “failure to launch.”

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