North Korea says it has launched a purported nuclear attack submarine it has been developing for years, a step leader Kim Jong Un described as crucial in his efforts to build a nuclear-armed navy to counter the United States and its Asian allies.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said the vessel – named “Hero Kim Kun Ok” – is designed to launch tactical nuclear weapons from underwater but did not specify the number of missiles it could carry and fire.
Kim expressed satisfaction that the country has acquired its own nuclear attack submarine. In July, the US docked a nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine in South Korea for the first time since the 1980s.
Based on Kim’s comments and photos by North Korean state media, it’s likely the new submarine was the same one Kim inspected in 2019 while it was under construction, which experts then assessed as an effort to convert an existing Romeo-class submarine. The submarine appears to have at least 10 launch tubes – four of them larger than the other six – that are possibly designed for ballistic and cruise missile launches. 219
