North Korea said on Saturday it was building its first nuclear-powered submarine to increase its nuclear weapons capabilities, and the provincial news media told state leader Kim Jong Un un that it had tested some of what appears to be larger than the state owned.
The announcement, made in the state's news media, comes when US and South Korean officials feared that the North would receive technical assistance from Russia to modernize their troops in return for sending troops and traditional weapons to support the war with Ukraine.
The official South Korean Central News Agency in the North said in a report on the construction of a strategic guided missile submarine carrying a nuclear weapon,” said in a report on its visit to an unidentified naval shipyard on Saturday. The agency carried a photograph showing what appeared to be the hull of a submarine under construction.
It was the first time North Korea has claimed that a nuclear-powered submarine was under construction, and claimed to be showing pictures of it.
North Korea has dozens of old Soviet-era submarines, all equipped with diesel. This requires frequent resurfacement to recharge the battery during long trips, such as across the Pacific Ocean. Nuclearly mounted submarines can cover long ranges without resurfacement, and will increase North Korea's ability to approach distant enemies like the United States, undetected, and hit it with nuclear missiles.
The state news media on Saturday said Kim said his country's navy could “be fully visible in any water that is not limited to what you need.”
North Korea has vowed to try to build a nuclear submarine as Kim designated him as one of his biggest military priorities at his ruling Workers' Party meeting in 2021.
External analysts doubt that North Korea has the technical and engineering capabilities to build nuclear submarines, including small reactors that propel ships. But Kim's submarine project could get a boost if Russia helps North Korea clarify the technical hurdles in return for large-scale cargo of North Korea's shells and missiles, and in return for the large-scale shipments of artillery and missiles sent to support the war with Ukraine, Kim's submarine project may get a boost, said Yang Moo-jin of the North Korean Research University in Seoul.
Old North Korean submarines can be used to transport spies to South Korea or fire torpedoes. The US and its allies have been closely watching North's attempts to develop missile launch subs ever since they began testing missiles designed for submarines about a decade ago.
In 2023, North Korea announced the completion of its “tactical nuclear attack submarine.” It was a Soviet-era diesel-powered vessel that was said to be able to launch nuclear missiles. However, South Korea's military is skeptical of the vessel's unusual design, saying normal operation appears to be incompetent. There was no evidence that North Korea had test-activated missiles from the vessels.
The newly announced submarine appeared to be larger than the 2023 model, said Hong Min, a North Korean military expert at Seoul's National Unification Institute.
Little is known about the new ship, but the name “nuclearly driven strategically guided missile submarine” suggests that it was designed to launch both the north's developing nuclear ballistic and cruise missiles.
