North Korea launches first 'tactical nuclear attack submarine': KCNA

North Korea on Friday (September 8) launched its first "tactical nuclear attack submarine" which has been successfully built as part of its plan to strengthen its naval force, reported the state news agency KCNA.

The unveiling ceremony was presided over by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday, who said that the new submarine was part of a "push forward with the nuclear weaponization of the Navy in the future", as per KCNA.

The submarine's launch, which has been named the Hero Kim Kun Ok, "heralded the beginning of a new chapter for bolstering up the naval force of the DPRK", said the KCNA report, while mentioning the name of the country by the abbreviation of its formal name.

Kim stated that the submarine "will perform its combat mission as one of the core underwater offensive means of the naval force of the DPRK", reported KCNA.

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A record number of weapontests have been conducted by North Korea this year, and last month the country failed in its second attempt at placing a spy satellite into orbit. Washington and Seoul have increased defence cooperation in response, as they are staging joint military exercises with US strategic assets and advanced stealth jets.

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Enhancing modernity of underwater

The launch of the submarine took place amid a festive ceremony which involved confetti and balloons, as Kim emphasised "the strategic and tactical plan to continuously enhance the modernity of underwater and surface forces and push forward with the nuclear weaponisation of the Navy in the future", said KCNA. The submarine was inspected by Kim on Thursday as it was preparing for a test cruise.

"Saying that to arm the navy with nuclear weapons arises as an urgent task... he stressed the need to enable the Navy to successfully carry out its strategic duty by hastening the transfer of underwater and surface vessels equipped with tactical nuclear weapons to the Navy," Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA.

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US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Ankit Panda, citing the short-range SLBM which has been test-fired by North Korea, said, "This is likely intended to field the navalised version of the KN23, which they've acknowledged as a delivery system for their compact nuclear warhead.”

Senior research fellow at the Missile Defence Advocacy Alliance Tal Inbar said that the huge sail of the submarine appeared to have room for both cruise and ballistic missiles. "It won't be long before we will see it launch missiles," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

(With inputs from agencies)

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