Pyongyang's New Nuclear Sub Raises Questions of Russian Assistance

 

North Korea has unveiled what it claims to be its first nuclear-powered submarine, raising questions about whether it received technical assistance from Russia in exchange for the vast quantities of ammunition that Pyongyang has shipped off to the front in Ukraine.

State media outlet KCNA released photos of what it claims to be a "nuclear powered strategic guided missile submarine," or SSBN. A South Korean weapons expert, Moon Keun-Sik, told AP that it appears to be twice as large as previous North Korean subs and may have capacity for up to 10 missiles. This is enough to be "absolutely threatening to us and the U.S.," he said. 

Courtesy KCNA

In a statement carried by KCNA, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un said that the objective for Pyongyang's navy is to contain "the inveterate gunboat diplomacy of the hostile forces," referring to the United States and South Korea. 

While it would be the North's first nuclear-powered sub, it would not be its first ballistic-missile sub. Pyongyang has a smaller 2,000-tonne converted attack sub that it uses for testing sub-launched ballistic missiles, one at a time. It also has unveiled a conventionally-powered ballistic missile submarine, the Pukguksong-5, which has been panned by Western and South Korean analysts. 

The North has nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons, but it was not publicly known to possess a functioning naval reactor until last weekend's announcement. To some, the rapid development suggests that Russia may have had a hand. In 2023, Kim Jong-un made a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to supply Russia with artillery ammunition and soldiers; only the North Korean side of the deal has been visible to the public so far, in the form of its footprint on the battlefield in Ukraine. Exactly what Kim received in return is as-yet unknown to the public. Whatever that reward may be, the sub's construction started sometime before the deal with Russia was reached and could have incorporated some amount of Russian input, defense expert Yang Uk of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies told Korea Times. 

“The released photos suggest that the submarine has been under construction for more than two years. North Korea may have received technology from Russia in the latter half of 2023, while supplying artillery shells and missiles in return to aid Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Yang said.