North Korea Unveils Nuclear-Powered Submarine: How a Sanctioned Nation Built it?- wna24
Seoul: Tension on the Korean Peninsula has risen as heavily sanctioned North Korea unveiled its first nuclear-powered submarine on Saturday, which is currently under construction. The development of this weapon system poses a major security threat to South Korea and the US.
State media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Saturday released photos of what it described as “a nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine.”
The report also covered leader Kim Jong Un’s visits to key shipyards where warships are built. While KCNA did not provide specifics on the submarine, it mentioned that Kim was briefed on its construction.
Moon Keun-sik, a teacher at Seoul’s Hanyang University, a submarine expert said that the submarine appeared to be a 6,000-ton-class or 7,000-ton-class one which can carry about 10 missiles.
“It would be absolutely threatening to us and the U.S.,” Moon said.
North Korea obtaining a greater ability to fire missiles from underwater is a worrying development because it’s difficult for its rivals to detect such launches in advance.
A nuclear-powered submarine was part of a comprehensive list of advanced weaponry that Kim promised to develop during a 2021 political conference, aiming to counter rising U.S.-led military threats.
Other weapons on the list included solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, spy satellites, and multi-warhead missiles. Since then, North Korea has conducted numerous tests to develop these systems.
Questions about how North Korea, a heavily sanctioned and impoverished country, could get resources and technology to build nuclear-powered submarines have surfaced.
Moon Keun-sik said that North Korea may have received Russian technological assistance to build a nuclear reactor to be used in the submarine in return for supplying conventional weapons and troops to support Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine.
He also said North Korea could launch the submarine in one or two years to test its capability before its actual deployment.
North Korea has an estimated 70-90 diesel-powered submarines in one of the world’s largest fleets. However, they are mostly aging ones capable of launching only torpedoes and mines, not missiles.