United States intelligence agencies believe North Korea is developing a submarine capable of launching ballistic missiles, American news site Washington Free Beacon reported on August 26. The report said that U.S. intelligence recently spotted a submarine being built in North Korea which featured a tube for a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

The development of a ballistic missile-capable submarine and deployment of SLBMs by the Korean People’s Army Navy would be yet another in a series of significant advancements as of late by Pyongyang’s military and arms industry with regard to missile and rocket capabilities. In the past year, North Korea has tested the KN-09 300mm multiple rocket launcher, extended the ranges of both the KN-01 anti-ship missile and the KN-02 surface-to-surface missile, and shown footage of the ship-based launch of a Kh-35 anti-ship missile.