North Korean State Television Unveils Nuclear Submarine Hull

What Happened?

This week, North Korean state television broadcast images it claimed were of the completed hull of a future nuclear-powered submarine from an undisclosed location. A completed hull ‘means that they have already mounted a nuclear reactor inside,’ according to Hong Min, an expert on the North Korean military at the Korea Institute for National Unification, a prominent think tank in Seoul.

The announcement comes just after the arrival of the U.S.S. Greeneville, a Los Angeles-class American nuclear-powered attack submarine at Busan in South Korea. According to South Korea, the Greeneville stopped due to a routine resupply mission, but North Korea called the docking of the nuclear sub a ‘grave provocation.’

Why it Matters

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has made the completion of a nuclear submarine a top priority for the country’s Navy, especially since South Korea’s announcement they plan to field a nuclear sub. State television in North Korea regularly broadcasts over the top boasts of military capabilities, but occasionally they do publicly reveal the existence of new hardware or weapons systems. 

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A functional nuclear submarine would give North Korea the ability to project power far beyond the Korean peninsula. While North Korea claims it has land-based missiles that could reach the west coast of the United States, actual missile tests have not validated those claims. A nuclear submarine could transport ballistic missiles by sea until they were much closer to the coast of the United States, giving North Korea a new capability to potentially hit targets deeper inside the U.S. mainland.

Construction of a nuclear submarine can take anywhere from six to fifteen years, and the hull construction is only one part of that process. Even with a well-built hull, the completion of a nuclear submarine for North Korea is likely still many years away. But the efforts of North Korea to build a nuclear submarine indicates that the North Korean regime is willing to make substantial long-term investments in improving its ability to threaten the United States and South Korea. Nuclear subs are long range weapons systems and are unnecessary for short range operations closer to home. 

While North Korea considered the arrival of the Greeneville in Busan a provocation, the larger issue is likely the agreement by the United States to help South Korea construct its own nuclear submarine. South Korea claims its nuclear-powered sub will not carry nuclear weapons and would be used only to patrol waters near the Korean peninsula. Yet those claims are more difficult to accept for the same reason, namely that nuclear subs are primarily a way to project power over long distances.

How it Affects You

The efforts by North and South Korea to acquire nuclear submarines indicate that both countries are planning to continue their long-standing arms race in the coming decade. Technically North and South Korea are still in a state of war, since hostilities were only halted by an armistice not a formal peace treaty in 1953.