North Korea missile pictures heavily ‘photoshopped,’ U.S. says

Experts are saying that recent released photos of North Korea's "successful" ballistic missile launch are photoshopped, and badly at that.

North Korea announced on May 9th that it had successfully completed an underwater test-fire of the missile launched from a submarine.

This, after the socially-isolated nation also claimed they had the ability to miniaturize nuclear warheads.

The photos were released along with a warning towards Washington about challenging North Korea's right to boost military deterrence.

But German aerospace experts and a U.S. Admiral state the images are "strongly modified," and were quick to point out the many photoshop-fails in the pictures.

For instance, an odd red reflection in the water that is supposed to be of the missile is weirdly placed and doesn't line up with the actual missile itself.

People are also pointing out the stark differences of rocket trails in the photos released, versus the one seen on North Korean media.

The pictured missile’s trail is short, while the one broadcasted to the dictator-ruled nation shows a huge, voluminous pile of while smoke shooting from the backend of missile.

If the news of the successful launch was legitimate, it would mean huge progress for the volatile country, but many are just once again rolling their eyes toward the threatening boast.

"Considering the track record of North Korean deceptions, it seems sensible to assume that any North Korean SLBM [submarine-launched ballistic missile] capability is still a very long time in the future, if it will ever surface," Markus Schiller and Robert Schmucker, of Schmucker Technologie tell Reuters.

U.S. Admiral James Winnefeld told an audience in Washington that Pyongyang is still "many years" from developing the technology they are trying to boast.

The Admiral went on to add, "they have not gotten as far as their clever video editors and spinmeisters would have us believe."