The
US military has detected "highly unusual and unprecedented levels" of
North Korean submarine activity and evidence of an "ejection test" in
the days following Pyongyang's second intercontinental ballistic missile
launch this month, a defense official told CNN on Monday.
An
ejection test examines a missile's "cold-launch system," which uses
high pressure steam to propel a missile out of the launch canister into
the air before its engines ignite. That helps prevent flames and heat
from the engine from damaging either the submarine, submersible barge
or any nearby equipment used to launch the missile.
Carried
out on land at Sinpo Naval Shipyard, Sunday's ejection test is the
third time this month -- and fourth this year -- that North Korea has
conducted a trial of the missile component that is critical to
developing submarine launch capabilities, according to the US defense
official.
US officials also noted that a North
Korean Sang-O submarine was operating in the Yellow Sea and the length
of its deployment was notable. Two Romeo submarines were detected in the
waters off Japan -- each one operating in the area for about a week.
Coupled
with reports of increased submarine activity, news of another ejection
test comes amid concerns over North Korea's launch of an
intercontinental ballistic missile that appears to have the range to hit
major US cities on Friday.
Experts
believe if Friday's test had been fired on a flatter, standard
trajectory, it could have threatened cities like Los Angeles, Denver and
Chicago.
President Donald Trump
told reporters at his second full Cabinet meeting that his
administration will be able to take care of North Korea but offered no
specifics about what he plans to do.
"We
will handle North Korea. We are gonna be able to handle them. It will
be handled. We handle everything," Trump said after a reporter asked him
about his strategy.
Asked if the
US would strike first, Trump's press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders
said Monday that "all options are on the table," adding that Trump would
not "broadcast" his decisions.
Democrat
Sen. Mark Warner said on "Erin Burnett Out Front" Monday that Trump
showed "enormous naiveté" by suggesting the nuclear threat from North
Korea could be handled so simply.
