North Korea said on Saturday it was building its first nuclear-powered submarine to enhance its nuclear weapons capabilities, with the state’s news outlet showing U.S. leader Kim Jong-un a portion of the new submarines that appear to be larger than the country’s own.
The announcement was published in the state news media about US and South Korean officials feared that the North might get technical help from Russia to help modernize its military in exchange for dispatching troops and traditional weapons to aid its war with Ukraine.
North Korea’s official Central News Agency said in a report on Saturday that Mr. Kim “understood the construction of a nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine,” said Saturday’s official South Korea Central News Agency on his visit to an unidentified naval shipyard. Photos carried by the agency show the hull that appears to be under construction of the submarine.
This is the first time that North Korea claims to be building a nuclear-powered submarine and claims to show photos of it.
North Korea has dozens of old Soviet-era submarines, all powered by diesel, and on long trips, like crossing the Pacific, batteries must be re-layed frequently. Nuclear-powered submarines can cover a long distance without paving, which will enhance North Korea’s approach to enemies as far away as the United States without being discovered and attack it with nuclear missiles.
National news media quoted Mr King on Saturday as saying his country’s navy could be “fully displayed in any necessary waters.”
North Korea has vowed to build a nuclear-powered submarine since Mr Kim designated it as the highest military priority at the ruling Workers’ Party meeting in 2021.
External analysts suspect North Korea has the technical and engineering capabilities to build nuclear submarines, including small nuclear reactors that can push the ship. But if Russia helps North Korea clear technical barriers in exchange for thousands of troops and a large number of shells and missiles, this could promote Russia’s war to Russia against the Ukrainian war, but Kim’s submarine project could be pushed.
North Korea’s old submarines could be used to transport spies to South Korea or launch torpedoes. Since the country began testing missiles designed for submarines about a decade ago, the United States and its allies have been closely watching North Korea’s attempts to develop missiles.
In 2023, North Korea announced the completion of the “tactical nuclear attack submarine”. It is a remodeled Soviet-era diesel-powered ship that says it can launch nuclear missiles. But South Korean troops expressed doubts about the ship’s abnormal design, saying it did not appear to be functioning properly. There is no evidence that North Korea has tested a missile from a ship.
The newly unveiled submarine appears to be bigger than the 2023 model, and Hong Min is a North Korean military expert at the North Korean National Unification Institute.
Mr Hong said that although little is known about the new vessel, the name “nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine” suggests that it aims to launch nuclear and cruise missiles that have been developing in the north.
