The experimental test flight of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) by North Korea, conducted on April 22, caught most of the world by surprise. Many analysts who kept a watchful eye on North Korea’s missile programs thought that the country’s sole missile technology is based on liquid propulsion, and that this type of rocket engine is of Soviet origin (some even wrote that the DPRK lacks the technical knowhow to build the engines – and that the missiles are either just mock-ups/fakes/old Soviet stock).

Furthermore, the previous experiments by North Korea (basically underwater ejection tests) were dismissed by many as media stunts, first steps in a very long journey or mere fakes. Sometimes, the simple explanation is the right one: We all watched the North’s media coverage of the static test of a large diameter solid rocket motor (the experiment was reported by the DPRK on March 24). Again, many experts and think tank representatives downplayed the North’s achievement, stating that the diameter of the rocket motor was small, and that it only looked large due to cleaver manipulation by the North Koreans.