North Korea unveils its first nuclear-armed tactical submarine

SEOUL, Sept 8 (Reuters) – North Korea has launched its first operational “tactical nuclear attack submarine” and assigned it to the fleet patrolling the waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan, state media said on Friday.

Submarine number 841, named Hero Kim Kun Ok after a North Korean historical figure, will be one of North Korea’s main “submarine offensive means of the naval force,” leader Kim Jong Un said at the launching ceremony on Wednesday. .

Analysts said the vessel appears to be a modified Soviet-era Romeo-class submarine, which North Korea acquired from China in the 1970s and began producing domestically. Its design, with 10 launch tube hatches, showed it was most likely armed with ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, analysts said.

But such weapons won’t add much value to the North’s more robust ground-based nuclear forces, because the old submarines used as the core of the new design are relatively noisy, slow, and have limited range, meaning they may not survive as long for a war, said Vann Van Diepen, a former US government weapons expert who works with the 38 North project in Washington.

“When this is deployed on the ground, it will be quite vulnerable to allied anti-submarine warfare,” he said. “So I think from a stubborn military point of view this doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

The South Korean military said the submarine did not appear to be ready for normal operations and there were signs North Korea was trying to exaggerate its capabilities.

At the launch ceremony, Kim said arming the navy with nuclear weapons was an urgent task and promised more surface and submarine ships equipped with tactical nuclear weapons for the naval forces, the KCNA news agency reported.

“The submarine launching ceremony heralded the beginning of a new chapter in bolstering the DPRK’s naval force,” KCNA said, using the initials of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

North Korea plans to convert other existing submarines into nuclear-armed ships and accelerate its drive to eventually build nuclear-powered submarines, Kim said.

“Achieving rapid development of our naval forces…is a priority that cannot be delayed given…the enemies’ recent aggressive moves and military acts,” the North Korean leader said in a speech, apparently referring to the United States and Korea. from the south.

North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs are prohibited by United Nations Security Council resolutions, and the submarine launch drew condemnation from South Korea and Japan.

“North Korea’s military activity poses a graver and more imminent threat to our country’s security than ever before,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a briefing.

NUCLEAR ATTACK SUBMARINE

The designation as a “tactical” submarine suggests that it does not carry submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) ​​that can reach the mainland US, but rather smaller, short-range SLBMs or submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs). ) capable of attacking South Korea. Japan or other regional targets, said Choi Il, a retired South Korean submarine captain.

The rear of the submarine’s sail, the turret that protrudes from the top of the hull, was enlarged and 10 vertical launch tubes were installed, 4 large and 6 small, probably for SLBMs and SLCMs, he said.

North Korea has test-fired both SLBMs and SLCMs.

It is not clear if North Korea has fully developed the miniaturized nuclear warheads needed for such missiles. Analysts say perfecting smaller warheads would likely be a key goal if North Korea resumes nuclear tests.

North Korea has around 20 Romeo-class submarines, which are powered by diesel-electric engines and obsolete by modern standards, while most other countries operate them only as training vessels.

Analysts first detected signs of at least one new submarine being built in 2016, and in 2019, state media showed Kim inspecting a previously unreported submarine built under “his special attention” that would operate off the East Coast. .

State media at the time did not describe the submarine’s weapons systems or say where and when the inspection took place, but analysts said the apparent size of the new vessel indicated it was designed to carry missiles.

North Korea has a large submarine fleet, but only the experimental ballistic missile submarine 8.24 Yongung (Hero of August 24) is known to have fired one missile.

The launching ceremony comes as North Korea marks the 75th anniversary of its founding on Saturday and following reports that Kim plans to travel to russia this month he will meet with President Vladimir Putin to discuss arms supplies to Moscow.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Jakarta on Thursday, and Beijing asked do more as a member of the UN Security Council to address the nuclear threat from North Korea.

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