North Korea announced on Friday that it had built a “tactical nuclear submarine” as part of its efforts to strengthen its naval forces, state news agency KCNA said.
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The new submarine was unveiled on Wednesday at a ceremony presided over by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who said the ship was part of the Navy’s “progress in developing nuclear weapons in the future,” according to KCNA.
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The launch of the submarine, named Hero Kim Kun Ok, marked “a new chapter in strengthening the DPRK’s naval forces,” the state agency said, referring to the abbreviation of the official Korean name “North.”
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During the ceremony with confetti and balloons, Kim discussed the “strategic and tactical plan to continuously strengthen the modernity of the submarine and surface forces and further develop the Navy’s nuclear armament in the future,” according to KCNA.
He further stressed that “arming the Navy with nuclear weapons is becoming an urgent task,” according to KCNA.
AFP
On Thursday, Kim Jong Un inspected the submarine as it prepared for a test trip.
The North Korean leader last year described his country’s status as a nuclear power as “irreversible” and called for increased development of weapons, particularly tactical nuclear weapons.
Last week, Pyongyang conducted several “tactical nuclear attack simulations,” including launching two cruise missiles equipped with fake nuclear warheads into the Yellow Sea.
In August, the reclusive country’s second attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit failed.
In response to these tests, Seoul and Washington have increased defense cooperation and organized joint military exercises.
According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a U.S.-based think tank, North Korea has between 64 and 86 submarines, one of the largest submarine fleets in the world.
However, according to NTI, given the age of the ships, experts doubt that they are all operational.