North Korea tests submarine-launched missile: South Korea

North Korea on Saturday tested what appeared to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile the Sea of Japan, the South Korean ministry said.

"North Korea launched a projectile which was believed to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) around 6:30 pm (0930 GMT) in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) near the northeastern of Sinpo", a ministry spokesman said.

"We are keeping close tabs on the North Korean military and maintaining a full posture", he said.

It was not immediately known whether the launch was a success, he added.

North Korea has been pushing to acquire SLBM capability that would take its nuclear strike threat to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and the potential to retaliate in the event of a nuclear attack.

It has conducted a number of what it says were successful SLBM tests, but experts question the claim, suggesting Pyongyang had gone little further than a "pop-up" test from a submerged platform.

The test-firing comes as North Korea gears up for a rare and much-hyped ruling party congress early next month, at which leader Kim Jong- is expected to take credit for pushing the country's nuclear weapons to new heights.

Numerous analysts have suggested the regime might carry out a fifth nuclear test as a display of defiance and strength just before the congress opens.

Tension has been high on the divided Korean peninsula since Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test in January and rocket launch a month later that was widely seen as a disguised ballistic missile test.

The UN Security Council responded by imposing its strongest sanctions to the North's nuclear weapons .

Pyongyang has responded by staging a series of short- and mid-range missile tests and claiming a series of significant technical breakthroughs in its nuclear strike capability.

It claimed it had a nuclear warhead to fit on a missile and successfully tested an engine designed for an ballistic missile that could reach the US mainland.

While some experts say the claims are exaggerated, most acknowledge that the North's nuclear and ballistic missile have made significant strides.