North Korea has shown off for the first time a nuclear submarine it is building, a weapon that could pose a significant security threat to South Korea and the United States.
State media on Saturday released images showing a “nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine” as they reported on leader Kim Jong Un's visits to major shipyards where military vessels are being built.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) did not provide details about the submarine, but said Mr Kim had been briefed on its construction process.
Moon Geun-sik, a South Korean submarine expert at Hanyang University in Seoul, said the naval vessel was likely in the 6,000- or 7,000-ton class and could carry about 10 missiles.
According to him, the use of the term “strategic guided missiles” implies that they will be equipped with a nuclear charge.
“That would be extremely dangerous for us and the United States,” Mr Moon added.
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said: “We are aware of these allegations and have no further information to provide at this time.”
“The United States is committed to the complete denuclearization of North Korea.”
The nuclear submarine was on a long wish list of advanced weapons that Mr Kim promised to unveil at a major policy conference in 2021 to respond to what he called escalating military threats from the United States.
Other weapons he mentioned included solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic technology, spy satellites and multiple-warhead missiles.
Since then, North Korea has conducted a series of tests with the aim of developing them.
North Korea's increasing ability to launch missiles from submarines is a worrying development because it makes it more difficult for its adversaries to detect such launches in advance.
Questions have arisen about how North Korea, under severe sanctions and struggling economically, could obtain the resources and technology to build nuclear submarines.
Mr Moon noted that North Korea could receive technological assistance from Russia to build a nuclear reactor to be installed on a submarine in exchange for conventional weapons and troops to support Russia's military operations in Ukraine.
He also added that North Korea could launch the submarine in one to two years to test its capabilities before actual deployment.
North Korea's fleet is estimated to consist of 70 to 90 diesel submarines,
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
