North Korea unveils nuclear-powered submarine for the first time

North Korea has revealed a nuclear-powered submarine in development for the first time, a weapon that presents a significant security risk to both South Korea and the U.S. On Saturday, state media published images of what they referred to as “a nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine,” coinciding with reports of leader Kim Jong Un’s visits to key shipyards responsible for constructing warships.

The Korean Central News Agency, known as KCNA, did not disclose specifics about the submarine but mentioned that Kim received updates on its development.

The naval ship seems to belong to the 6,000-ton-class or 7,000-ton-class category, capable of carrying roughly 10 missiles, stated Moon Keun-sik, a South Korean submarine specialist who lectures at Hanyang University in Seoul. He stated that the phrase “the strategic guided missiles” indicated it would transport nuclear-capable arms.

A nuclear-powered submarine was part of an extensive list of advanced armaments that Kim promised to unveil at a significant political conference in 2021 to address what he described as rising U.S.-driven military dangers. Other armaments included solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, reconnaissance satellites, and multi-warhead missiles. Since then, North Korea has conducted a series of testing operations to obtain them.

North Korea gaining enhanced capabilities to launch missiles from underwater is a concerning trend as it makes it harder for its adversaries to identify those launches beforehand.

Questions have arisen regarding how North Korea, a nation under strict sanctions and facing poverty, could acquire resources and technology to construct nuclear-powered submarines. In 2023, North Korea claimed it had launched its first “tactical nuclear attack submarine,” but outside experts expressed skepticism about the announcement and suggested it was probably a diesel-powered submarine revealed in 2019.