08 Sep 2023
Kim Jong Un was present for the launch of the North Korean Navy’s (KPN) latest submarine on September 6. The new submarine is actually a rebuilt Soviet-designed Romeo Class boat, but radically modernized. It has been named “Hero Kim Gun-ok” (김군옥영웅) and given the hull number 841.
Significantly, the submarine has a missile compartment added with 10 missile tubes. Given the Hermit Kingdom’s investment in ballistic missiles, it is likely that these are nuclear capable.
The modification to the Romeo class submarine is so extensive that it almost appears to be a new boat. The new missile compartment, with two rows of five missile hatches, is in a section built into the sail. The bow has been shortened, reshaped and the diving planes moved to the sail.
We can speculate that the missiles are the Pukguksong family of submarine launched ballistic missiles. These are between 9.7 and 10.6 meters long and 1.5 and 1.8 meters in diameter depending on the exact version. The missile hatches however appear smaller, either for a shorter ranged ballistic missile first seen in October 2021, or for a cruise missile. North Korea has recently shown the ‘Hwasal-2′ cruise missile which approximates the U.S. Navy’s famous Tomahawk weapon.
From an initial analysis of the available imagery, it is also possible that the leading four missile tubes are a larger diameter than the rear six. This would imply a mixed load of four Pukguksong missiles and six of a smaller type.
Because of the way that the submarine has been reshaped it is possible that it lacks any torpedo tubes in the bow. If there are torpedo tubes, they will be at the expense of the crew spaces.
The aft section of the diesel submarine remains unchanged. Although it is likely nuclear armed, it is not a ‘nuclear submarine’ which refers to the propulsion.
This submarine may the same one which was shown being rebuilt in July 2019. That submarine, termed Sinpo-C, was at the time the under construction at the same shipyard where this boat was launched. However the new boat is significantly different from that one. So it may either represent an extensive redesign, or a different conversion. One hypothesis is that the first Romeo submarine conversion, armed with three Pukguksong missiles, was not successful. And that this boat represents the latest thinking, emphasizing more yet smaller missiles.
It is too soon to complete a full analysis. Naval News will be watching this space carefully to determine the full capabilities of this new submarine.
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