US Officials Believe North Korea Has SLBMs ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Ankit Panda)

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Author- J.A De Roo

Source- The Diplomat

Author- Ankit Panda

The Washington Free Beacon reports that North Korea is making progress toward operationalizing submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). The report, by the Beacon‘s Bill Gertz, cites comments made by the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, Admiral Cecil D. Haney, in a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee disclosed on Thursday. As The Diplomat covered last fall, North Korea’s SLBM development has been under the watchful eye of observers for some time now. A satellite imagery study by 38 North strongly hinted at an ongoing SLBM development process at North Korea’s Sinpo South Shipyard. Gertz’s report confirms that U.S. officials now believe that a North Korean SLBM is a safe assumption. A robust SLBM capability would be a major step for North Korea, particularly if it manages to successfully miniaturize a nuclear device for delivery from a submarine (a considerably more challenging task altogether, though a report Friday suggests U.S. officials believe North Korea has already done this).

 About the author- Ankit Panda is a foreign affairs analyst, writer, and editor with expertise in international relations, political economy, international security, and crisis diplomacy. He has been an editor at The Diplomat since 2013. He is currently also a Researcher on Wikistrat’s Asia-Pacific and South Asia desks. He was previously a Research Specialist at Princeton University where he worked on international crisis diplomacy, international security, technology policy, and geopolitics. He has traveled extensively in Asia, and has lived in India, Malaysia, and Japan. Panda received his A.B., cum laude, in Public and International Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He currently lives in New York City. Follow Ankit on Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn, or get in touch via email.

Original link to the article- http://thediplomat.com/2015/03/us-officials-believe-north-korea-has-slbms-miniaturized-nuclear-devices/