North Korea launches new tactical nuclear attack submarine

Leader Kim Jong-un attended launch ceremony this week

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends what state media reported was a launching ceremony for the new submarine. Reuters

North Korea has launched its first operational “tactical nuclear attack submarine” and assigned it to the fleet that patrols the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, state media reported on Friday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who attended the launch ceremony on Wednesday, said arming the navy with nuclear weapons was an urgent task.

He promised to transfer more underwater and surface vessels equipped with tactical nuclear weapons to the navy, KCNA said.

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

Submarine No 841 – named Hero Kim Kun-ok after a historical figure – will perform its combat mission as “one of core underwater offensive means of the naval force” of North Korea, Mr Kim said.

Analysts first saw signs that at least one new submarine was being built in 2016, and in 2019 state media showed Mr Kim inspecting a previously unreported submarine that was built under “his special attention”, which would be operational in the waters 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.

It was not immediately clear what missiles the new submarine would be armed with.

North Korea has test-fired long-range submarine launched ballistic missiles and short-range SLBMs and cruise missiles that can be fired from submarines.

It is also unclear whether North Korea has fully developed the miniaturised nuclear warheads needed to fit on such missiles.

Analysts say that perfecting smaller warheads would most probably be a key goal if the North resumes nuclear testing.

North Korea has a large submarine fleet but only the experimental ballistic missile submarine 8.24 Yongung (August 24th Hero) is known to have launched a rocket.

Tal Inbar, a senior research fellow at the Missile Defence Advocacy Alliance, said the submarine's huge sail appeared to have room for ballistic and cruise missiles.

“It won't be long before we will see it launch missiles,” Mr Inbar said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.