KIM Jong-un unveiled his latest doomsday toy – a huge nuclear submarine.
The tyrant did this as he personally oversaw a new round of long-range missile tests, redoubling efforts to build up a staggering military power. Asia and challenge the West.
North Korean state media released new images of the 8,700-ton nuclear submarine, showing the nearly completed hull inside a shipyard as Kim toured the site, accompanied by senior generals – and his teenage daughter, widely seen as a potential heir.
Kim called the ship a “landmark” leap in his nuclear program. Arsign and vowed to continue arming the navy as tensions rise on the Korean Peninsula.
Photos released by the Korean Central Agency News KCNA news agency (KCNA) notes the clearest picture yet of the submarine, which Pyongyang calls an “underwater strategic missile submarine” designed to transport nuclear weapons.
Earlier images released in March showed only partial parts of the hull.
Experts say the latest images suggest the boat is close to operational readiness.
“Now displaying the entire vessel indicates that most of the equipment has already been installed and it is almost ready for launch,” said Moon Geun-sik, a submarine expert at Seoul's Hanyang University and a former South Korean navy officer.
He believes the submarine could be tested at sea within a few months.
The development came after KCNA separately reported that Kim on Wednesday oversaw the test firing of new long-range surface-to-air missiles, destroying targets up to 200 kilometers away.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed multiple launches from North Korea's east coast and said allied intelligence agencies were analyzing the weapons.
Kim used the submarine visit to lash out at Seoul, calling South Korea's U.S.-backed push to develop its own nuclear submarine an “offensive act” that he said seriously violates North Korea's security and maritime sovereignty.
He said the South's plans only increase the need to speed up the nuclearization of North Korea's navy.
KCNA said the submarine project is part of a broader program to modernize the fleet, along with new attack destroyers and faster construction of ships capable of carrying “a variety of weapons.”
Analysts warn that a nuclear submarine would give Pyongyang a dangerous new advantage: It could remain submerged for long periods of time and potentially launch missiles from underwater, making it much more difficult for adversaries to detect.
But doubts remain over whether the sanctions-hit regime can truly cope with the situation. technology on one's own.
Some experts believe that North Korea's deepening ties with Russia – including reports of military support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine – may have helped unlock key know-how.
Others argue that the reactor is likely built domestically, perhaps with limited outside help.
Kim pledged for the first time to build a nuclear submarine in 2021 as part of an expansive weapons wish list aimed at countering what he called growing threats from the United States.
Since then, North Korea tested solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles, unveiled hypersonic weapons, launched spy satellites, and unveiled a new destroyer designed to enhance preemptive strike capabilities.
The show of force comes as diplomacy lies in ruins.
Pyongyang has repeatedly rejected calls Washington and Seoul to resume talks on curbing its nuclear and missile programs, which collapsed after a failed summit with Donald Trump during the first term of the US President.
