North Korea has only one experimental submarine capable of carrying a ballistic missile.
North Korea is building two new submarines, including one capable of firing ballistic missiles, a South Korean lawmaker said on Tuesday, following a closed-door briefing by the Southern National Intelligence Service. .
North Korea has a large fleet of submarines but only one known experimental submarine capable of carrying a ballistic missile.
“One of the submarines that North Korea is building can carry a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM),” Ha Tae-keung, an MP from the opposition party, told Reuters. within the parliamentary intelligence committee. “One is a modified Romeo class and the other is a new middle-tall class.”
North Korea has been the subject of UN Security Council sanctions since 2006 for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump have met three times since 2018, but have failed to advance US calls for Pyongyang to renounce its nuclear weapons and demands for the North Korea for the end of the sanctions.
In July 2019, state media showed Kim inspecting a newly built large submarine. Although North Korea did not describe the submarine’s weapon systems, analysts said the ship’s apparent size indicated it was designed to carry missiles.
Later in the year, North Korea said it had successfully tested a new SLBM from the sea, and last month it showed off a new SLBM design at a military parade in Pyongyang.
Kim’s vow to unveil new strategic weapons this year has also led to speculation that North Korea may soon deploy an operational ballistic missile submarine.
North Korea presented a total of 76 missiles of nine different types during a military parade on October 10, including the country’s long-range weapons for the first time in two years, Yonhap News Agency reported. , quoting Ha.
After months of speculation about Kim’s health, South Korean spies said there was no sign the young leader was suffering from any health problems, Yonhap reported.
The lawmaker also said there was circumstantial evidence that Kim had ordered an investigation into North Korean troops who shot dead a South Korean fisheries official who went missing in late September, Yonhap reported.
North Korea said last week that the shooting at the South Korean man in its waters last month was a self-defense measure amid concerns over the coronavirus.
(This story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
