NK to develop larger submarines

By Jun Ji-hye

North Korea’s next move after conducting a successful submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test, Wednesday, will be to develop submarines that can fire multiple missiles, experts said Thursday.

The North demonstrated a significant improvement in developing operational SLBMs by successfully test-firing one Wednesday, which flew about 500 kilometers before landing in waters within Japan’s air defense identification zone. This indicates that the repressive state may have acquired the cold launch technology necessary to launch a missile from the water and to put it on a trajectory for a designated target.

Experts say the North now apparently needs a new bigger class of submarine than the existing Sinpo class with a displacement of around 2,000 tons to enhance its SLBM capability, as the SLBMs would be useless if the submarine functions poorly.

Moon Keun-sik, a submarine expert at the Korea Defense Security Forum, told reporters that the North will try to build a 3,000-ton submarine with three SLBM launch tubes, and then one that will have more than 12.

The Sinpo-class submarine, which the North built in the 1990s by modeling a Russian Golf-class submarine, has only one missile launch tube, meaning that it has to return to base after firing one missile.

Moon added, “I believe the North has also established a plan to build a nuclear-powered submarine.”

The Sinpo-class is capable of navigating underwater for only several hours, which makes it almost impossible to cover long distances covertly in South Korean waters.

A nuclear submarine does not have to surface frequently as it is powered by a reactor, making it difficult for an enemy to detect. Moreover, it can operate at high speeds for long periods of time.

Officials say the allies have yet to detect any signs of the North building larger, nuclear-powered submarines.

But a U.S. expert claimed that the repressive state already began a project several years ago to build a new bigger class of submarine.

Joseph Bermudez, co-founder and chief analytic officer of AllSource Analysis, said at a briefing organized by the U.S.-based North Korea monitoring website 38 North, Wednesday, that the North is building an operational SLBM system under a long-term plan and steady progress has been made.

If North Korea achieved that goal, it would complicate ballistic missile defense planning and operations by South Korea and the U.S., he said.

Experts also noted that the North will step up efforts to miniaturize nuclear warheads small enough to mount on top of SLBMs and that the regime’s test-firing will continue to refine its capability to hit designated targets.

According to Pyongyang’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, Thursday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un described the test launch as “the greatest success and victory,” noting that his country has full capacity to carry out nuclear attacks.

After observing the launch, Kim said the results showed North Korea “joined the front rank of the military powers fully equipped with nuclear attack capability,” the KCNA reported.