What risks does it represent if North Korea has a “tactical nuclear attack submarine”?

A milestone in the “evolution of the Navy’s nuclear arsenal.” That’s how he summed it all up kim jong undictator of North Koreaduring the presentation of the new “tactical nuclear attack submarine” to its troops.

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The ship, named Hero Kim Kun Ok in honor of a laureate officer from the 1940s, will be “one of the main underwater offensive means of the naval forces”nationals, the leader highlighted according to the KCNA news agency.

The same media highlighted Kim’s insistence that all submarines and other vessels be equipped “with tactical nuclear weapons”.

According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative center, North Korea has one of the largest submarine fleets in the world, with between 64 and 86 ships of this type.

However, it is not known if all of them will be operational due mainly to the age of the ships. In reaction to the announcement of the new submarine, South Korea condemned the fact but at the same time doubts that it is capable of operating.

“Our initial assessment is that [el submarino] does not appear to be operational“, the heads of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea told the AFP agency.

Kim made the announcement in front of thousands of naval soldiers who gathered for the presentation. (KCNA via AFP/)

The Hero Kim Kun Ok would be a modification of the Soviet Romeo Class bathyscaphe that arrived in North Korea decades ago under the Chinese version called Type 033. It would be about 84 meters long and weigh 3 thousand tons when submerged. In addition, it would have capacity for between 50 and 60 crew members.

The researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Joseph Dempsey wrote on his X account (formerly Twitter) that the submarine presented this Friday the 8th would be one that Kim had already shown in 2019 but modified.

To date, North Korea only possessed one submarine capable of firing a ballistic missile. This was the Hero of August 24, which carried out this test in 2016. In this case, experts estimate that the Hero Kim Kun Ok could carry more than one projectile.

According to the EFE agency, the images shown of the submarine allow us to determine that it has four large launch tubes and another six smaller ones on the sail of the submersible, which means that it can fire – in addition to torpedoes – different types of missiles.

According to the North Korean media KCNA, Kim insisted that all submarines and other vessels be equipped “with tactical nuclear weapons.” (KCNA via AFP/)

Source: Elcomercio