North Korea tests new submarine-launched missile

North Korea has test-fired a new ballistic missile from a submarine, state media reported, a day after authorities in South Korea and Japan detected an apparent weapons test.

The "new-type" Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile [or SLBM] was launched from the same submarine involved in a 2016 test of an older SLBM, North Korea's state news agency KCNA said on Wednesday. 

South Korea's military reported on Tuesday that it believed North Korea had fired a missile off its east coast, the latest in a string of North Korean missile tests.

READ MORE: Seoul says North Korea tested submarine-launched ballistic missile

Analysts noted that photos released by KCNA appeared to show a thinner missile than North Korea's earlier SLBM designs, meaning more – but shorter-range – missiles could be stored on a single submarine and potentially putting nuclear-armed North Korea closer to fielding an operational ballistic missile submarine.

READ MORE: North Korea says successfully tested new ballistic missile – KCNA

Missile has 'flank and gliding skip mobility'

"The new type SLBM, into which lots of advanced control guidance technologies including flank mobility and gliding skip mobility are introduced, will greatly contribute to putting the defence technology of the country on a high level and to enhancing the underwater operational capability of our navy," KCNA said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was not reported to have attended the test.

The missile was launched from the sea in the vicinity of Sinpo, where North Korea keeps submarines as well as equipment for test-firing SLBMs, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff had said.