North Korea suspected of building 'unprecedentedly large' ballistic missile submarine

The US-based Institute for North Korea Studies believes that Pyongyang is accelerating the process of building a new ballistic missile submarine.

Recent satellite images of a North Korean naval shipyard suggest Pyongyang is pursuing an "expedited plan" to build a new ballistic missile submarine, Reuters reported today, citing the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University in the US.

38 North, a website specializing in reporting on the situation in North Korea, cited images obtained on November 5 showing many activities taking place at North Korea's South Sinpo shipyard.

North Korea's Sinpo-B class SLBM submarine. Illustration photo: KCNA.

"The presence of what appear to be parts of a submarine pressure hull at this yard suggests that North Korea is building a new submarine, possibly a Sinpo-C-class ballistic missile submarine, a successor to the experimental Sinpo-class ballistic missile submarine," the website said.

According to 38 North, the size of these parts suggests that North Korea's new submarine will be larger than the ROMEO-class submarines that Pyongyang currently operates.

Images from the test site show that testing of the submarine-launched missile mechanism continues.

In mid-October, US military intelligence also discovered that North Korea was building a new, unprecedentedly large diesel-electric submarine at the Sinpo shipyard, calling it the Sinpo-C. The submarine, with a displacement of about 2,000 tons and a width of about 11 meters, would become Pyongyang's largest naval asset since the appearance of the Najin-class frigate.

The construction of the Sinpo-C shows that North Korea is strengthening its strategic submarine deterrence at sea in the coming time. A single Sinpo-B class submarine would hardly survive a military conflict, especially when it is constantly anchored at a fixed location.

According to Dat Viet Newspaper