By Jun Ji-hye
The military is facing growing calls from the ruling Saenuri Party and some military experts to develop a nuclear-powered submarine as a countermeasure to North Korea’s submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).
There are concerns that it is almost impossible for the surveillance assets that the military currently possesses to detect a North Korean submarine launching a missile from underwater.
Supporters of developing a nuclear submarine say that the only way to counter such a threat would be to have a submarine ordered by Seoul to strike the North’s submarine before it launches a missile.
The calls come as the repressive state is accelerating its SLBM program with its latest test Saturday, during which the North reportedly successfully launched a missile from underwater.
The ruling Saenuri Party floor leader Rep. Won Yoo-chul recently raised questions over the capabilities of existing or envisioned assets of the nation of responding to such a threat.
“The effectiveness of the nation’s own Kill Chain preemptive strike and the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) has been called into question,” Won said during a party meeting, Monday. “The nation needs to establish stronger and more confident deterrent force in preparation for the North’s provocations.”
Seoul is developing its own Kill Chain and KAMD programs to better deter the North’s nuclear and missile threats with the aim of putting them into service in mid-2020.
But critics point out even if those assets are deployed, it would be hard to detect and destroy a North Korean submarine that sneaks into rear area waters off South Korean territory.
“The ultimate means to respond to the North’s SLBM would be to strike the submarine before it launches a missile,” said Rep. Kim Jung-hoon, chief of the ruling party’s policy committee. “To do so, we have no choice but to possess nuclear-powered submarines.”
Moon Keun-sik, a submarine expert at the Korea Defense Security Forum, also told reporters: “Introducing nuclear-powered submarines would be the best way to respond to the SLBM threat.”
Supporters say that the nuclear submarine does not have to surface frequently as it is powered by a nuclear reactor, making it difficult for an enemy to detect. Moreover, it can operate at high speeds for long periods of time.
They say Brazil, which does not possess nuclear weapons, is pushing for developing a nuclear-powered attack submarine with assistance from France.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said that nothing has been decided regarding the development of nuclear submarines, but left open the possibility, saying, “We are attentively listening to such an opinion.”
In 2003, then-the Roh Moo-hyun government secretly pushed for building the nation’s own nuclear submarines and operationally deploying three submarines by 2020. But this plan was dropped in a year due to concerns about potential nuclear proliferation on the Korean Peninsula.
Observers say the situation is different this time, noting that the government can push the plan again as a revision of the Seoul-Washington nuclear cooperation deal, signed last year, allows South Korea to produce uranium enriched to less than 20 percent when using U.S. ingredients.