North Korean submarines 'could fire nuclear missiles at America within TWO YEARS'

Dictator Kim Jong-un was pictured watching the offshore test launch at the weekend, which came just days after the volatile and secretive nation threatened to attack sworn enemy America with nuclear weapons.

South Korean officials claimed the communist country could perfect the devastating ballistic missile technology - with capability of reaching US mainland from an undetectable distance - within two to three years.

Kim Min-seok, South Korea's defence ministry spokesman, said: “We urge North Korea to immediately stop developing submarine-launched ballistic missiles which hinder the stability of the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia.”

He said its isolated neighbour still needs time to develop additional equipment for the missile launcher to be fully operational.

Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum and a policy adviser to the South Korean navy, added: "They need to build a new, bigger submarine."

EPAJust last week North Korea threatened to launch a nuclear attack on sworn enemy the US


However, an anonymous defence official in South Korea said the timeframe could be as little as two years and up to a maximum of five.

Both the United States and Japan reserve rights to conduct pre-emptive strikes on North Korean missile sites if a nuclear attack is viewed as imminent.

Launching missiles from submarines could enable Pyongyang to hide them.

It was first reported by the communist nation's official news agency on Saturday that the country had successfully launched a rocket from a submarine.

Images showed a delighted Kim watching from nearby.

EPAExperts said the rocket only made it 150 metres in the test

The test meant North Korea had broken a United Nations sanction which banned it from using ballistic missile technology.

Experts believe the missile only reached around 150 metres.

They added the particular weapon used would have a maximum reach of around 1,500 miles which would require a submarine to be at sea for around 60 to 90 days for it to be at a close enough distance to pose a threat to America.

Chinese officials also raised concern over the released images.

Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: “We hope that all relevant parties can do more to ameliorate the tense situation, and jointly maintain peace and stability."

Credit to Express.co.uk