Shocked by the power of Pyongyang's submarines

Russian military expert Vladimir Lodkin has an article providing some relatively detailed information about a formidable force of North Korea (North Korea) - the submarine force.

On December 6, 2017, Pyongyang officially issued a statement on the situation on the Korean peninsula related to large-scale US-South Korea military exercises.

According to the statement, the above actions (exercises) of the US show that war on the peninsula is inevitable. With this exercise, the US is preparing to attack North Korea.

There have been many comments, articles, and analyses by experts about the military strength of the parties involved on the Korean Peninsula, but we would like to forward to readers an article by Russian military expert Vladimir Lodkin providing some relatively detailed information about a formidable force of North Korea (North Korea) - the submarine force.

The following is the content of the article, the photos in the article are by author V.Lodkin:

“If you want peace, prepare for war.” The medieval adage rings true in the current North Korean situation.

Threats (by the DPRK) that the submarines of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) could launch ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads, if based on the events we have just witnessed, are clearly not without basis.

The threat of a submarine ballistic missile attack on targets in Japan, South Korea and US military bases in the Pacific region in the near future is one of the most realistic (most likely-ed.)

In recent years Pyongyang has made impressive achievements in developing submarine missile technology and has shown its clear intention to use those achievements to solve strategic tasks.

North Korea makes no secret of its military ambitions, even though the US has absolute military-strategic superiority in the region and is also urgently deploying US Navy strike groups including aircraft carriers, surface ships and submarines carrying “Tomahawk” missiles to the Korean Peninsula.

Threats from North Korean submarines are increasingly raising tensions in the region because the DPRK leadership has shown that it has absolutely no intention of giving up its plans to realize its nuclear-missile programs.

It is necessary to emphasize one point in particular: - based on the national military strategy and at the proposal of the North Korean authorities, in April 2012 the country's Constitution was amended and a provision was added to determine the nuclear status of the DPRK.

Furthermore, since taking power, Kim Jong-un has paid special attention to the submarine force.

First of all, it is to deploy the construction of ballistic missile submarines and build the marine element in the composition of the DPRK's strategic nuclear forces.

DPRK submarine force

The work of designing, building and using submarines of various types in the DPRK has been carried out since the mid-1960s. According to foreign sources, since the 2000s, the DPRK Navy has begun implementing a plan to modernize its submarine fleet.

Up to now, the North Korean submarine force is one of the submarine forces with the largest number of ships in the world. According to the criteria of the number of non-nuclear submarines, the DPRK ranks with Russia, China, Iran and India in the top 5 countries with the most non-nuclear submarines.

The DPRK's submarine forces have more than 75 submarines in service.

The core of the North Korean submarine fleet are 20 diesel submarines of the type “033”. The “033” submarines were built in North Korea under license from the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The prototype of the “033” submarine was the Soviet submarine of project 633 (type “Romeo” according to NATO designation).

Maximum length of submarine “033”: 76.6m, maximum width: 6.7m, draft: 5.2m, displacement when surfaced (when submerged): 1,475 (1,830) tons, maximum speed on the surface (underwater): 15 (13) nautical miles/h, diving depth: 300m. The ship's weapons are 8 533mm torpedo launchers (tubes). Crew: 54 people.

In addition to the “033” ships, the DPRK Navy also has more than 50 small and micro submarines of different classes.

Midget submarines of the Navy of the DPRK (from top to bottom) – Yogo type, Р-4 type, Sang-O type

The Sang-O midget submarine was designed in the 1980s-1990s. In total, 40 of these submarines were built by the DPRK, and the Sang-O continues to be built.

Length of “Sang-O”: 34m, width: 3.8m, displacement when submerged: 370 tons, speed on the surface (underwater): 7.2 (8.8) nautical miles/h, operating range: 1,500 nautical miles, weapons - 2 533mm torpedo launchers (ammunition - 4 torpedoes).

The Sang-O submarine is used for special operations, minelaying and anti-surface warfare (both warships and civilian ships). The construction of the Sang-O midget submarine began in 1991.

In this series, in addition to the main version of the torpedo submarine (Soviet type 53-56 torpedo), there are also 2 specialized in carrying 16 mines on external hooks. In addition to the mine-laying mission, these submarines (the 2 mentioned above) can also transport underwater equipment to carry frogmen. The ship's weapons also include 12.7 mm machine guns and a portable anti-aircraft missile system.

According to data from various sources, the DPRK also has up to 10 Yugo-type micro-submarines. The Yugo-type micro-submarines were designed at the DPRK and were initially intended for export.

Several “Yugo” type boats were sold to Iran and Vietnam. Length of the boat: 20m, width: 2m, displacement when submerged: 90 tons, speed on the surface (when submerged) - 10 (4) knots, weapons - 2 533mm torpedo launchers (ammunition - 2 torpedoes).

According to Dat Viet Newspaper