[Photo] N. Korea fires SBLM hours after saying it would resume talks with US

While observers are awaiting the resumption of North Korea-US working-level talks toward denuclearization, North Korea launched a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) off its eastern coast on Oct. 2. The launch occurred just hours after Pyongyang announced its willingness to resume talks with the US. Although North Korea has conducted ten test launches of short-range missiles since May, this is their first launch of a ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 to 3,000km since the Singapore summit last year, making it a significant escalation. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) released a statement shortly after the launch saying the SBLM is likely the Bukkeukseong-1 (Polaris-1 or KN-11), the same kind North Korea launched on May 9, 2015.