MOSCOW (Sputnik) — North Korea admitted on Sunday that it conducted an underwater missile test launch a day before, saying it was a "remarkable success," the state-run North Korean news agency KCNA said.
The South Korean military said Saturday it had detected a North Korean submarine fire a ballistic missile off the eastern shore, prompting France to call for additional EU sanctions on Pyongyang.
The Korean agency said the ballistic missile launch "fully confirmed the reliability of the underwater launch system and satisfied all the technical …requirements for carrying out an offensive operation."
Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the launch and was pleased with the result, the statement added.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated after North Korea successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test in January. The North maintains that it needs atomic weapons as a deterrent to prevent an invasion from the United States.
