North Korea reveals new images of its first ‘nuclear-powered’ submarine

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — North Korea on Thursday released new images of what it claims is its first nuclear-powered submarine, a massive vessel equal in size to some of the United States Navy’s attack subs.

The pictures released by state media showed leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the guided-missile submarine at an indoor construction facility, indicating it has not yet been launched.

Building a nuclear-powered submarine has been a long-held goal for Kim, who first discussed it at a ruling party congress in 2021, but the fact its rival, South Korea, has recently being given the blessing of the Trump administration to pursue its own nuclear-powered subs appears to have added urgency to Kim’s plans.

Such vessels come with many advantages. They can stay submerged for long periods of time – essentially for years, if they can carry enough provisions for the crew – whereas most conventionally powered subs must surface for air to run diesel engines, which in turn charge their batteries for running at depth.

They are also generally faster than conventionally powered subs and are in many cases quieter. Currently only the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom and India possess the technology.

The images released Thursday show substantial progress had been made on the sub, the existence of which was first announced in March.

State media said the vessel had a displacement of 8,700 tons, making it an equal to most of the nuclear-powered Virginia-class attack subs in the US fleet.

On Thursday, Kim again stressed its importance of the vessels to Pyongyang’s defense policy, which he said was “literally… based on the strongest offensive power,” according to a Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report.

“We regard the super-powerful offensive capability as the best shield for national security in developing the armed forces,” KCNA reported Kim as saying.

Noting the US support, Kim said South Korea building a nuclear-powered submarine was an action that violated North Korean security and was a threat that needed to be countered, the report said.

But Pyongyang itself is responsible for heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

Kim “is probably right that a buildup of nuclear-powered submarines will increase instability around the Korean Peninsula, but he has himself to blame for the arms race,” Easley said.

“It is Pyongyang that disavows diplomacy with Seoul, threatens its neighbors with nuclear weapons, and deepens the suffering of its own people by devoting massive resources to military dictatorship rather than economic development,” he said.

Kim has been overseeing a large buildup in his country’s military capabilities as part of that five-year plan unveiled in 2021.

Those include a range of missiles, including ballistic missiles that can reach the US mainland, hypersonic glide vehicles that could be difficult to defend against, and, at sea, two new guided-missile destroyers.

The second of those made headlines earlier this year when it capsized on launch. The warship was subsequently refloated and apparently repaired.

The build of the destroyers and nuclear submarines marked “a leap forward in bolstering up the combat capabilities of our fleets,” Kim said while inspecting the new sub, according to KCNA.

But, even so, Easley notes North Korea’s fleet remains inferior to the South’s, which boasts some of the world’s best guided-missile destroyers and new conventionally powered submarines.

“Kim may realize that he has miscalculated once he observes South Korea’s superior technology,” Easley said.

North Korea’s one advantage may be having nuclear-powered submarines sooner.

South Korea has wanted them for decades, but a decades-old nuclear agreement with the US had prevented it from building them, until October, when President Trump appeared to clear the path. But getting them designed and built could take a decade.

“North Korea could conduct missile tests [with the submarine] after launching it within the next two years,” Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, told CNN.

Based on the images, Hong analyzed that the submarine could be already loaded with a nuclear reactor, which leaves only a few more stages before it is ready to be launched.

The new sub wasn’t the only hint of North Korea’s future that emerged in the images released Thursday.

Pictures of the event show Kim was accompanied by his daughter, believed to be Kim Ju Ae, who has made a number of public appearances recently, prompting speculation he is preparing a future successor.

The-CNN-Wire
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