New photos show North Korea may be preparing to test ballistic missiles that could be launched from a submarine, according to a Washington, DC think tank that focuses on Korea. The report also notes that North Korea recently released a photo showing the country was building a new type of submarine.
The group Beyond Parallel says the images are from the Sinpo South Shipyard. The report says aerial photos show support vessels and a crane that that, based on past practices, suggest preparations to tow a barge out to sea from which test missiles could be launched. But, the group says there is nothing conclusive to show that a test would happen in the near future.
"What we have found in this imagery is that there is a lot of activity at the warehouse, a lot of camouflage or shrouding activity by the North Koreans, erecting of cranes that are ... consistent with building this new ballistic missile submarine," Victor Cha, one of the analysts who wrote the report, told MSNBC Tuesday night.
The report also includes an image the group says was released by North Korean media last month, purportedly showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting a "newly built submarine."
"We believe this to be the long-expected follow-on ballistic missile submarine to the Korean People’s Navy’s existing SINPO-class experimental ballistic missile submarine," the analysts wrote.
Cha said North Korea's submarine technology until now has been "pretty primitive" and most of it came from the Soviet Union, incapable of launching nuclear missiles.
The analysts said the evidence indicates the technology is "emerging" and not "imminent" because the sub would need multiple tests, trials and shakedown cruises that will likely take more than a year.
They warn that a ballistic missile-capable submarine would significantly advance the nuclear threat of Kim's regime and make defense planning in the Pacific Ocean much more problematic. Cha said the missiles North Korea would likely load onto this submarine would have a range of about 750 to 1,000 miles. He said Guam, a key post for U.S. defense in the region, could be put at risk.
North Korea has continued conducting ground-based missile tests in recent weeks. State media said Kim supervised the test-firing of a "newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher" last Sunday. That followed two suspected short-range ballistic missiles on Saturday.
Some experts said North Korea aims to show off its weapons to try to get an upper hand ahead of a possible restart of nuclear negotiations, which have been at a standstill since the second summit between Kim and President Donald Trump in Hanoi in February broke down. The United States said then that North Korea made excessive demands for sanctions relief in exchange for only a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.
Trump and Kim met again briefly at the inter-Korean border in late June and agreed to resume talks.
Trump downplayed Sunday's launch, saying, "Kim Jong Un has been, you know, pretty straight with me. ... He likes testing missiles but we never restricted short-range missiles. We'll see what happens."
Beyond Parallel describes itself as a nonpartisan analysis group designed to increase understanding to policymakers and strategists about Korean unification. It is funded by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.