North Korea unveiled for the first time under a nuclear-managed submarine construction, a weapon system that could pose a major security threat to South Korea and the US.
The state media agency on Saturday released photos showing “a nuclear-managed strategic guided missile submarine”, as it reported the trips to the leading shipyards of leader Kim Jong Un where the warships are built.
The Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, did not provide details on the submarine, but said Kim was informed on its construction.
The naval vessel seems to be a 6,000-ton-class or 7,000-ton-class that can carry about 10 missiles, South Korean submarine expert Moon Keen-Sike said, who teaches at Hanyang University in Seoul. He said that the use of the term “strategic guided missiles” meant that it would take atom-capable weapons.
“It would be a threat to us and America,” Moon said.
US National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said that “We are aware of these claims and do not have additional information to provide at this time.
“America is committed to North Korea’s complete nuclearization,” Hughes said.
An nuclear-managed submarine was one of a long wish list of sophisticated weapons, which Kim vowed to introduce during a major political conference in 2021, which she asked to carry forward the US-led military threats. Other weapons were solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, espionage satellites and multi-vaorhead missiles. North Korea has since scored a run of test activities to achieve them.
North Korea is a worrying growth to achieve greater potential to set up missiles from underwater, as it is difficult for its rivals to detect such launch.
North Korea can get resources and technology for the creation of a heavy sanctioned and poor country, for the manufacture of nuclear-managed submarines.
The submarine expert, Moon, said North Korea may have received Russian technical assistance for the construction of a nuclear reactor used in the submarine in exchange for the supply of traditional weapons and soldiers to support Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine.
He also said that North Korea could launch the submarine in a year or two to test its ability before its actual deployment.
One of the world’s largest fleet in North Korea has an estimated 70–90 diesel-operated submarine. However, they are mostly aging that are capable of launching only torpedo and mines, not missiles.
In 2023, North Korea stated that it launched it called his first “strategic nuclear attack submarine”, but foreign experts suspected the north declaration and estimated that it was probably revealed a diesel-operated submarine in 2019. Moon said that there was no confirmation that it has been deployed.
North Korea has a sleep of underwater-launched ballistic missile tests since 2016, but all launchs were made with the same 2,000-ton-class submarine, with a single launch tube. Many experts call it a test platform rather than an operational submarine in active service.
In recent times, North Korea has been making its fierce statements against the US and South Korea before its upcoming annual military exercise starting on Monday.
During her visits to Shipyard, Kim said that North Korea aims to modernize the surface of the water and underwater warships simultaneously. KCNA stated on Saturday that he emphasized the need to fully fulfill the need to fully fulfill his mission to incorporate his mission “to include” Invited Gunbot Diplomacy of hostile forces “.
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