S. Korea's Navy retrieves suspected debris of NK missile that flew over NLL last week

SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Navy said Monday it has retrieved what is presumed to be the debris of a ballistic missile that North Korea fired southward last week past its de facto maritime border with the South in the East Sea.

"The South's Navy on Sunday collected what is presumed to be the debris of the North's short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) in waters south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL)," Col. Kim Jun-rak, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), said at a regular press briefing.

North Korea fired three SRBMs from a site in or near its eastern coastal city of Wonsan on Wednesday, including one that landed near South Korea's territorial waters after flying over the NLL for the first time since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

The Navy's Gwangyang salvage and rescue ship was dispatched to areas south of the NLL from Friday through Sunday, and retrieved the suspected debris using an unmanned underwater searching device, according to the JCS.

The South's military said related authorities are analyzing the retrieved materials.

North Korea launched more than 30 ballistic missiles last week alone, including a presumed failed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), amid growing speculation it may carry out a nuclear test in the near future.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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