North Korea Didn’t Launch Submarine Missile, U.S. Officials Say

North Korea didn’t launch a ballistic missile from a submarine, contrary to its government proclamations and news reports, according to two U.S. officials.

Instead, the U.S. intelligence assessment is that the secretive communist country may have tested the compressed-gas ejection system that’s needed to begin launching a missile from a submerged vessel, according to the officials, who asked not to be identified discussing the internal appraisal.

North Korean state media showed leader Kim Jong Un watching a projectile blast out of the sea and said on Saturday that he called the launch an “eye-opening success.” No details were provided on the size or range of the missile that it said was tested or when or where it happened.

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