The ceremony to unveil the new submarine was presided over by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, for whom equipping his country’s navy was an “urgent task of the time”.
North Korea has built, launched and put into service its first “tactical nuclear-armed attack submarine” as part of its efforts to increase the power of its Navy, the official KCNA news agency reported today.
The ceremony to unveil the new submarine was presided over by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, for whom equipping his country’s navy was an “urgent task of the time”.
The new weapons system will enhance “the nuclear deterrent” of the country “qualitatively, quantitatively and in leaps and bounds,” improving “regional and global peace and security,” according to the agency’s text.
According to the same source, Mr. Kim stressed that his country will build more submarines, including nuclear-powered ones.
The new submarine, christened Hero Kim Kun Ok, “opens a new chapter in the strengthening of the naval forces” of North Korea, according to KCNA.
During the ceremony with balloons and confetti, the North Korean leader referred to the “tactical and strategic plan to continuously strengthen” his country’s nuclear arsenal with submarines and surface vessels and with nuclear weapons “in the future”.
Mr Kim inspected the submarine yesterday before it made its first outing.
Last month, the North Korean leader denounced the announcement by the “gang leaders” of the US, South Korea and Japan that they would hold frequent military exercises together, which he said confirmed that his country’s Navy must become urgently much more powerful.
The existing fleet of submarines will be modernized so that they can routinely carry nuclear weapons, he further announced.
The new submarine joins the fleet patrolling the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, KCNA said.
Analysts had pointed to indications that a submarine was initially being built in 2016, while in 2019 state media reported that the head of state had inspected a vessel under construction that attracted his “special attention”.
Additionally, North Korea has repeatedly tested submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) ​​and submarine-launched cruise missiles.
Tomorrow Saturday, North Korea celebrates the 75th anniversary of its founding.
Source :Skai
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