STORY: North Korea unveiled its first operational “tactical nuclear attack submarine”, state media said on Friday (September 8)
The boat, named Hero Kim Kun Ok, has been assigned to the fleet that patrols the waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan, North Korean outlets reported.
So what is the new vessel and what does its launch mean for the reclusive country’s navy?
In a speech at the sub’s launch ceremony, North Korean leader Kim Jung Un said it would become one of the main “underwater offensive means of the naval force”.
North Korea’s navy has historically been dwarfed by its land forces, and overshadowed by its rapidly advancing ballistic missile program.
But over the past year it has moved to boost its navy with new nuclear weapons, including an underwater drone and warships.
Analysts say the new vessel appears to be a modified Soviet-era Romeo-class submarine, which North Korea acquired from China in the 1970s and began producing domestically.
Shin Seung-ki is a research fellow at the Korea Institute For Defense Analyses and says it is expected to carry tactical ballistic and cruise missiles, but may face limitations.
“Because it has excessively modified the existing Romeo-class submarine, there may be some limitations in immediately operating it compared to the existing one. However, there is a possibility that North Korea has strengthened the internal structure in some way to ensure operation. In that regard, while there may be limitations, it is likely that they will continue to develop it to a level where it can be operated at some point in the future.”
Such weapons won’t add much value to land-based nuclear forces, added former U.S. government weapons expert Vann Van Diepen who works with Washington-based 38 North.
That’s because the ageing submarine at the core of the design is relatively slow and noisy, with a limited range.
Combined, these factors mean it may not survive long in a war, and would be vulnerable to anti-submarine warfare, he said.
South Korea’s military said that the submarine didn’t appear ready for normal operations, and that there were signs North Korea was attempting to exaggerate its capabilities.
North Korea’s navy has about 470 surface vessels and around 70 submarines.
In August, Kim inspected a new Amnok-class corvette, a patrol ship that state media said was capable of firing nuclear-armed cruise missiles.
Specialist website Naval News dubbed the corvette’s weapons and sensors as “severely obsolete in comparison with western or Asian designs”.
But it maintained the ship was a major step forward for North Korea, with potentially game changing nuclear cruise missile capability.
And back in spring, the navy tested what it called a “nuclear-capable unmanned underwater attack weapon”.
It was said to be designed to make sneak attacks in enemy waters, destroy naval strike groups and major ports with an underwater explosion.
A report by 38 North at the time said the weapon’s slow speed and limited range made it substantially inferior to the existing nuclear-armed ballistic and cruise missiles in terms of time-to-target, accuracy and lethality.
North Korea unveiled a new tactical nuclear attack submarine, state-run media reported Friday, a development leader Kim Jong Un called a "top priority" in countering the naval strength of the United States.
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