North Korea launches missile from submarine, South Korea says

North Korea fired what is believed to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile off the east coast of the Korean peninsula, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said Saturday.

The missile was fired at 6:30 p.m. Saturday (5:30 a.m. ET), South Korean officials said, and appears to have flown about 30 km (about 19 miles) -- well short of the 300 km (roughly 186 miles) that would be considered a successful test.

North Korean state news agency KCNA claimed the launch was successful, and said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "guided on the spot the underwater test-fire of strategic submarine ballistic missile."

"At the observation post he was briefed on the plan for the test-fire and gave an order for it," KCNA reported. "As soon as the order was issued, the submarine submerged as low as the biggest depth of waters for launching and fired the ballistic missile. The test-fire was aimed to confirm the stability of the underwater ballistic launching system in the maximum depth of waters."

One U.S. official said Saturday the launch "was provocative but not a threat to the U.S. and the missile was fired away from South Korea and Japan." But another U.S. official noted that after previous launch attempts by Pyongyang that didn't appear to be successful, this one seems to have gone much better.

"North Korea's sub launch capability has gone from a joke to something very serious," this official said. "The U.S. is watching this very closely."

"At the observation post he was briefed on the plan for the test-fire and gave an order for it," KCNA reported. "As soon as the order was issued, the submarine submerged as low as the biggest depth of waters for launching and fired the ballistic missile. The test-fire was aimed to confirm the stability of the underwater ballistic launching system in the maximum depth of waters."

One U.S. official said Saturday the launch "was provocative but not a threat to the U.S. and the missile was fired away from South Korea and Japan." But another U.S. official noted that after previous launch attempts by Pyongyang that didn't appear to be successful, this one seems to have gone much better.

"North Korea's sub launch capability has gone from a joke to something very serious," this official said. "The U.S. is watching this very closely."

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

July 2014: North Korea threatens to hit the White House and Pentagon with nuclear weapons. American "imperialists threaten our sovereignty and survival," North Korean officials reportedly said after the country accused the U.S. of increasing hostilities on the border with South Korea. "Our troops will fire our nuclear-armed rockets at the White House and the Pentagon -- the sources of all evil," North Korean Gen. Hwang Pyong-So said,according to The Telegraph.

Hide Caption

8 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

March 2013: Angered by tougher U.N. sanctions and joint military exercises by the United States and South Korea, the Supreme Command of North Korea's military vowed to put "on highest alert" the country's "rocket units" that are assigned to strike "U.S. imperialist aggressor troops in the U.S. mainland and on Hawaii and Guam and other operational zone in the Pacific." Whether Pyongyang has the will to back up such doomsday talk is a perplexing question, but there is evidence that its know-how -- in terms of uranium enrichment, nuclear testing and missile technology -- is progressing.

Hide Caption

9 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

February 2013: In a message to the United States and South Korea, North Korea vowed"miserable destruction" if "your side ignites a war of aggression by staging reckless joint military exercises."

Hide Caption

10 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

June 2012: Once again, North Korea vowed to be "merciless" in its promised attack on the United States, this time threatening a "sacred war" as it aimed artillery at South Korean media groups. North Korea was mad that South Korean journalists had criticized Pyongyang children's festivals meant to foster allegiance to the Kim family.

Hide Caption

11 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

April 2012: North Korea's state-run news agency reported that "the moment of explosion is approaching fast" and promised "merciless" strikes against the United States. "The U.S. had better ponder over the prevailing grave situation," it said. Later that month, Pyongyanglaunched a long-range rocket that broke apart and fell into the sea. The launch came during preparations for a grand party that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea.

Hide Caption

12 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

November 2011: North Korea's military threatened to turn the capital of South Korea into a "sea of fire," according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

Hide Caption

13 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

2009: After the U.S. pledge to give nuclear defense to South Korea, Pyongyang threatened a "fire shower of nuclear retaliation."

Hide Caption

14 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

2002: U.S. President George W. Bush includes North Korea in an "axis of evil" with Iran and Iraq, which North Korea brushes off as a "little short of a declaration of war." North Korea reportedly threatened to "wipe out the aggressors." That year, North Korea also threatened to kick out international inspectors who were in the country to monitor its compliance with global nuclear nonproliferation agreements.

Hide Caption

15 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

North Korea has a history of using creative language to express loathing for its enemies. Here are some of the regime's more colorful threats against the West.

March 2016: North Korea warned it would make a "preemptive and offensive nuclear strike" in response to joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises. Pyongyang issued a long statement promising that "time will prove how the crime-woven history of the U.S. imperialists who have grown corpulent through aggression and war will come to an end and how the Park Geun Hye group's disgraceful remaining days will meet a miserable doom as it is keen on the confrontation with the fellow countrymen in the north."

Hide Caption

1 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

March 2016: Following the imposition of strict U.N. sanctions, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country's "nuclear warheads need to be ready for use at any time," the North Korean state news agency KCNA reported.

Hide Caption

2 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

January 2016: North Korea claimed to have successfully tested a thermonuclear weapon, justifying its right to have an H-bomb on the grounds of "self defense."

Hide Caption

3 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

September 2015: In a statement, North Korea said its nuclear arsenal was ready for use "at any time."

Hide Caption

4 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

August 2015: As forces from the U.S. and South Korea took part in joint military drills. North Korea's state media referred to the exercises, which started on August 17, as "madcap" and issued a stern warning to America: "If the U.S. ignites a war in the end, far from drawing a lesson taught by its bitter defeat in the history, the DPRK will bring an irrevocable disaster and disgrace to it."

Hide Caption

5 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

August 2015: On August 23, as North Korean negotiators were meeting with their South Korean counterparts over current tensions, a KCTV presenter appeared on air repeating North Korea's ambitions to "destroy the warmongering South Korean puppet military."

Hide Caption

6 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

December 2014: The FBI said it suspected North Korea was behind a hack of Sony Entertainment, which led executives to initially cancel the theatrical release of "The Interview." The film was a comedy about an American television personality who the CIA asks to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea threatened "merciless" action against the U.S. if the film was released, accusing the U.S. of retaliating for the hack by shutting down North Korea's Internet access. North Korea's National Defense Commissionalso called U.S. President Barack Obama "reckless" and a "monkey."

Hide Caption

7 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

July 2014: North Korea threatens to hit the White House and Pentagon with nuclear weapons. American "imperialists threaten our sovereignty and survival," North Korean officials reportedly said after the country accused the U.S. of increasing hostilities on the border with South Korea. "Our troops will fire our nuclear-armed rockets at the White House and the Pentagon -- the sources of all evil," North Korean Gen. Hwang Pyong-So said,according to The Telegraph.

Hide Caption

8 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

March 2013: Angered by tougher U.N. sanctions and joint military exercises by the United States and South Korea, the Supreme Command of North Korea's military vowed to put "on highest alert" the country's "rocket units" that are assigned to strike "U.S. imperialist aggressor troops in the U.S. mainland and on Hawaii and Guam and other operational zone in the Pacific." Whether Pyongyang has the will to back up such doomsday talk is a perplexing question, but there is evidence that its know-how -- in terms of uranium enrichment, nuclear testing and missile technology -- is progressing.

Hide Caption

9 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

February 2013: In a message to the United States and South Korea, North Korea vowed"miserable destruction" if "your side ignites a war of aggression by staging reckless joint military exercises."

Hide Caption

10 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

June 2012: Once again, North Korea vowed to be "merciless" in its promised attack on the United States, this time threatening a "sacred war" as it aimed artillery at South Korean media groups. North Korea was mad that South Korean journalists had criticized Pyongyang children's festivals meant to foster allegiance to the Kim family.

Hide Caption

11 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

April 2012: North Korea's state-run news agency reported that "the moment of explosion is approaching fast" and promised "merciless" strikes against the United States. "The U.S. had better ponder over the prevailing grave situation," it said. Later that month, Pyongyanglaunched a long-range rocket that broke apart and fell into the sea. The launch came during preparations for a grand party that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea.

Hide Caption

12 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

November 2011: North Korea's military threatened to turn the capital of South Korea into a "sea of fire," according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

Hide Caption

13 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

2009: After the U.S. pledge to give nuclear defense to South Korea, Pyongyang threatened a "fire shower of nuclear retaliation."

Hide Caption

14 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

2002: U.S. President George W. Bush includes North Korea in an "axis of evil" with Iran and Iraq, which North Korea brushes off as a "little short of a declaration of war." North Korea reportedly threatened to "wipe out the aggressors." That year, North Korea also threatened to kick out international inspectors who were in the country to monitor its compliance with global nuclear nonproliferation agreements.

Hide Caption

15 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

North Korea has a history of using creative language to express loathing for its enemies. Here are some of the regime's more colorful threats against the West.

March 2016: North Korea warned it would make a "preemptive and offensive nuclear strike" in response to joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises. Pyongyang issued a long statement promising that "time will prove how the crime-woven history of the U.S. imperialists who have grown corpulent through aggression and war will come to an end and how the Park Geun Hye group's disgraceful remaining days will meet a miserable doom as it is keen on the confrontation with the fellow countrymen in the north."

Hide Caption

1 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

March 2016: Following the imposition of strict U.N. sanctions, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country's "nuclear warheads need to be ready for use at any time," the North Korean state news agency KCNA reported.

Hide Caption

2 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

January 2016: North Korea claimed to have successfully tested a thermonuclear weapon, justifying its right to have an H-bomb on the grounds of "self defense."

Hide Caption

3 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

September 2015: In a statement, North Korea said its nuclear arsenal was ready for use "at any time."

Hide Caption

4 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

August 2015: As forces from the U.S. and South Korea took part in joint military drills. North Korea's state media referred to the exercises, which started on August 17, as "madcap" and issued a stern warning to America: "If the U.S. ignites a war in the end, far from drawing a lesson taught by its bitter defeat in the history, the DPRK will bring an irrevocable disaster and disgrace to it."

Hide Caption

5 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

August 2015: On August 23, as North Korean negotiators were meeting with their South Korean counterparts over current tensions, a KCTV presenter appeared on air repeating North Korea's ambitions to "destroy the warmongering South Korean puppet military."

Hide Caption

6 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

December 2014: The FBI said it suspected North Korea was behind a hack of Sony Entertainment, which led executives to initially cancel the theatrical release of "The Interview." The film was a comedy about an American television personality who the CIA asks to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea threatened "merciless" action against the U.S. if the film was released, accusing the U.S. of retaliating for the hack by shutting down North Korea's Internet access. North Korea's National Defense Commissionalso called U.S. President Barack Obama "reckless" and a "monkey."

Hide Caption

7 of 15

15 photos: North Korea's verbal volleys

July 2014: North Korea threatens to hit the White House and Pentagon with nuclear weapons. American "imperialists threaten our sovereignty and survival," North Korean officials reportedly said after the country accused the U.S. of increasing hostilities on the border with South Korea. "Our troops will fire our nuclear-armed rockets at the White House and the Pentagon -- the sources of all evil," North Korean Gen. Hwang Pyong-So said,according to The Telegraph.

U.S. denounces launch

Launching a missile from a submarine has always been a military priority for North Korea, CNN's Barbara Starr reports, and if this test was successful, it would be a military victory for Pyongyang.

But such a launch is in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the U.S. State Department said.

"We have seen the reports that North Korea launched what appeared to be a ballistic missile from a submarine in the Sea of Japan," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. "Launches using ballistic missile technology are a clear violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions."

"We call on North Korea to refrain from actions that further destabilize the region and focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its commitments and international obligations.

"The United States remains steadfast in its commitments to the defense of its allies. We will continue to coordinate closely with the ROK, Japan, and other allies and partners," Kirby added.

Previous launch a failure

Saturday's launch comes about a week after another attempt, which was apparently unsuccessful.

A U.S. defense official said April 14 that U.S. Strategic Command systems detected and tracked an attempted North Korean missile launch, but there was "no evidence the missile reached flight," a U.S. official told Starr.

Tensions have risen on the divided Korean peninsula this year as Pyongyang has made a series of assertions about developments in its military capability.

South Korea's military did not specify what sort of missile was part of the April 14 test, but South Korean media reported it involved an intermediate-range Musudan missile.

Pyongyang carried out its fourth nuclear test in January. It said it succeeded in miniaturizing nuclear warheads to fit on medium-range ballistic missiles, which U.S. intelligence analysts say is probably true.

News Courtesy: www.cnn.com