Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
North Korea possibly building new submarine
By Lee Min-hyung
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
By Lee Min-hyung
North Korea is possibly building a new submarine that can fire ballistic missiles, according to South Korean and U.S. defense officials, Friday.
This could be a serious security threat to the United States as the submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) may reach as far as the U.S. mainland.
“[SLBM technology] changes the defense equation in terms of where the origin could be,” U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood said Wednesday (local time) in a Senate hearing.
The SLBMs are considered more threatening weapons than intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), as they are harder to detect and increase the regime's strike capabilities in a more secretive manner.
According to recent Google Earth satellite images, components presumed to be used for developing a submarine capable of launching missiles have been detected near the North's shipyard in Sinpo. The materials were not detected in images taken last year.
The South Korean military said it is closely monitoring the regime's recent movements in the region.
“We need more time to analyze whether the components are actually used for developing the submarine or SLBMs,” a military official said.
Nothing official has been confirmed over the detailed specification of the regime's new submarine, but critics speculate that it could be more than 3,000 tons and able to carry at least a couple of missiles.
In recent years, calls have grown for the South and the U.S. to enhance defense readiness against possible SLBM threats from the North.
In August 2016, the regime succeeded in test-launching its first SLBM with a range of 1,500 kilometers.
North Korea has since continued developing SLBMs, with the focus on increasing the strike range.
U.S. Northern Command Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy also said during the hearing that the regime's nuclear and missile threats are growing.
“North Korea's stockpile of nuclear weapons and ICBMs remain an immediate concern,” he said.
He also argued in a report submitted to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee that the regime finished ICBM tests that can strike the U.S. mainland in 2017, and therefore the regime's deployment of the missiles looks imminent.
The concerns grew in recent weeks in the wake of the failed Hanoi summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in February. Last year, the regime rarely showed any signs of enhancing its nuclear or missile armament, in line with its pledge for peace and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
But the summit breakdown has raised skeptic voices that claim the regime will not give up its nuclear and missile weapons.