Within North Korea’s military, some people call the development of systems to launch ballistic missiles from below reservoirs a “temporary, expedient tactic to use for a year,” a Daily NK source in the military said on Friday.
On Oct. 10, North Korea said through its state media that its recent series of missile launches was a training drill for tactical nuclear weapon units.
The KCNA reported that, “There took place a ballistic missile launching drill under the simulation of loading tactical nuclear warheads at a silo under a reservoir in the northwestern part of the DPRK at dawn of September 25.”
The source said the test site was the Taechon Reservoir in Tokhwa-ri (formerly Pungnim-ri) in Taechon County, and that Taechon Power Station No. 1 is located below the reservoir.
“It’s rumored to be the ideal spot with deep water optimal for an underwater missile launch because Taechon Power Station No. 1 dams up the river,” he said.
The source noted, however, that opinion is split within the military on whether launching missiles from under reservoirs represents a “permanent option.”
North Korea’s launch of ballistic missiles from underneath reservoirs is intended to make it harder for the South Korean military to detect the missiles. Yet among North Korean technicians and experts, opinions diverge about the utility of the tactic.
According to the source, the operational tactics command team of North Korea’s supreme command thinks the adoption of launch systems underneath reservoirs is inevitably a short-term tactic, given how one could specify the location of reservoirs with the proper launch conditions, including water depth.
The source said the team is currently discussing the matter as one requiring careful thought, given that much of the strategic or tactical significance of a sub-reservoir launch — or the destructive power of such a strike — would be negated should the enemy ascertain which reservoirs are deep enough to accommodate such launch technology.
Experts in the defense sciences and strategists also note that the country has completed development of “cold launch” technology to create more nimble, effective weapons, but that launching them from below reservoirs was less effective, given that the technology is for submarine-launched systems.
Meanwhile, other people say that given how North Korea has four distinct seasons, launching missiles from reservoirs during low-water periods could prove difficult, requiring intensive discussion about building silos under reservoirs.
Some scientists and technicians are reportedly saying that since launching missiles from reservoirs is a “temporary expediency” while the country completes development of nuclear submarines, there is no need to impute the tactic with much significance.
The source said inside the military, defense science agencies and the operational headquarters of tactical nuclear units have decided to submit their final report as a proposal to the Supreme Command after holding intensive discussions about constructing silos underneath reservoirs, as conceived during the latest drill, and about the launch strategy itself.
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