North Korea says it has launched a new nuclear attack submarine to counter U.S. naval power

North Korea said it has launched a purported nuclear attack submarine, designed to launch tactical nuclear weapons from underwater

North Korea said on September 8 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.

In his speeches at the vessel’s launching ceremony on Wednesday and an onboard inspection on Thursday, Mr. Kim expressed satisfaction that the country has acquired its own nuclear attack submarine to counter the advanced naval assets of the U.S., KCNA said. In July, the U.S. docked a nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine in South Korea for the first time since the 1980s.

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Mr. Kim said the country is also pursuing a nuclear-propelled submarine and plans to remodel its existing submarines and surface vessels so that they could handle nuclear weapons, describing the building of a nuclear-capable army as an “urgent task.”

Based on Mr. Kim’s comments and photos by North Korean state media, it’s likely the new submarine was the same one Mr. 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.

North Korea previously had been testing a variety of missiles designed to be fired from submarines as it pursued an ability to conduct nuclear strikes from underwater, which in theory would bolster its deterrent by ensuring a survivable capability to retaliate after absorbing a nuclear attack on land.