North Korea Claims Successful Test of Submarine-Fired Missile

North Korea said Sunday that it successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine and warned of its growing ability to cut down its enemies with a “dagger of destruction.”

A South Korean man watches a TV news program showing images published Sunday in North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper of North Korea's ballistic missile that the North claimed to have launched from underwater, at Seoul Railway station in Seoul, South Korea, on April 24, 2016. AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

SEOUL, South Korea—North Korea said Sunday that it successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine and warned of its growing ability to cut down its enemies with a “dagger of destruction.” South Korea couldn’t immediately confirm the claim of success in what marks Pyongyang’s latest effort to expand its military might in face of pressure by its neighbors and Washington.

Hours before the announcement, South Korean military officials said the North fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile from a submarine off its eastern coast. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectile traveled about 30 kilometers (19 miles) Saturday evening. That’s a much shorter than the typical distance of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, which can fly at least 300 kilometers (186 miles).

A South Korean man watches a TV news program showing an image published Sunday in North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, at Seoul Railway station in Seoul, South Korea, on April 24, 2016. AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon