[Chungraon = Associate Editor-in-Chief Dongseop David Yeo] On Christmas Day, North Korea announced their newly developed nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine. The new vessel is supposedly equal in size to some of the United States Navy’s attack subs, alarming world leaders.
The North Korean state media released pictures of their leader, Kim Jong Un, inspecting the new submarine. The photos showed Kim inside an indoor construction facility, which showed that the submarine hadn’t been launched into operation yet.
Kim had first mentioned his desire for a nuclear-powered submarine in 2021, and the recent approval of Korea’s own development of nuclear-powered submarines by the American government and President Donald Trump has added increased urgency to Kim.
The benefits of a nuclear-powered submarine are numerous, with one of the main factors being their ability to stay underwater for much longer periods of time. They could potentially stay underwater for years if they had the necessary provisions. They are also generally much quicker than the conventional diesel-powered submarines, while also being much quieter, which is an essential factor in stealth missions.
Currently only the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and India possess the technology necessary to arm their navy with such submarines, and North Korea’s addition to the list increases the military risk that North Korea already poses.
Kim stressed the importance of the addition of such firepower to his arsenal on Thursday, where he said, “We regard the super-powerful offensive capability as the best shield for national security in developing the armed forces.”
The report also stated North Korea’s disapproval of the new submarines being created by their southern counterpart, as they said that it was an action that violated North Korean security and unnecessarily increased military tensions between the once warring states, but experts criticize North Korea as well, as their reciprocated creation of nuclear submarines only exacerbates the problem at hand. “Pyongyang itself is responsible for heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula.” Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University, says, “It’s 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.”
Kim had been overseeing large-scale weapons amassing and development over the past years, as his 5-year plan, announced in 2021, was to heavily bolster the military power of the communist nation while asserting its dominance over the Korean Peninsula.
/Dongseop David Yeo
