‘A Frankenstein’: what is known about the ‘nuclear’ submarine that North Korea presented

In a lavish ceremony, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un unveiled his country’s new submarine, described as the first capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

State media claimed the submarine strengthens the country’s nuclear weapons capabilities “by leaps and bounds.”

He was baptized as Hero Kim Kun Okayin honor of a historic North Korean naval officer.

Owning a submarine that can fire nuclear weapons has long been on the list of war goals for the isolated Asian country.

In photos published by state media, Kim was seen at a shipyard, surrounded by naval officers and dwarfed by the huge black submarine. He said this will be one of the key tools for an “underwater offensive” by the North Korean Navy.

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“The nuclear attack submarine (…) now symbolizes our threatening power that strikes fear into our unscrupulous enemieshe declared.

But there is skepticism about whether it is actually a submarine with the offensive characteristics Pyongyang claims.

The fact that, according to experts, it is a modified Soviet submarine manufactured during the Cold War has led some to call it a “Frankenstein Submarine”.

What is known about this submarine?

Asian and Western military analysts point out that what Pyongyang has shown the world is a Soviet-era Romeo-class submarinethat was already featured in propaganda in 2019 during an inspection of Kim Jong-un.

The question is whether it has been modified enough to add the capacity to transport nuclear weapons. From what has emerged so far, there is no assurance that it has had operational capacity since then It was only seen in a shipyard and there was no footage of it sailing or successfully launching nuclear-capable missiles.

“As a platform it will have some fundamental limitations and vulnerabilities,” Joseph Dempsey, a researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told the BBC.

The fact that the submarine’s stern and propellers were blurred in the images broadcast by state media could be a maneuver to hide the fact that it is an old submarine.

Other possible limitations are that this is possible noisy, slow and have a limited rangeVann Van Diepen, a US government weapons expert, told the Reuters news agency.

If North Korea were to put it into service, the sound of its combined diesel-electric engine would be heard would make it quickly detectable by South Korea, Japan and the United States, according to Tyler Rogoway, a columnist for the site specializing in military affairs. The ride.

“As for the submarine’s capabilities, the missile magazine, which extends behind the sail, clearly has five doors on each side, for a total of ten compartments. The front four are larger than the rear six,” explains Rogoway, who calls the ship the “Frankensub” because of the obvious modifications on display.

“This makes sense because the ship is designed to carry multiple types of missiles, especially a combination of them short-range submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) and short-range submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCM)”.

Expert Yang Uk, from the Asan Institute for Political Studies in Seoul, agrees with this analysis, he told the newspaper The New York Times which is the launching pad “abnormally large” because of its size, “as if North Korea wanted to show off nuclear weapons.”

That structure, he added, “will limit the stealth and maneuverability of the submarine.”

But the North Korean Navy does have dozens of smaller submarines that, while not nuclear, serve as a whole They have an offensive capability that should not be overlooked, experts warn.

“The existence of such a capability would be seen as another important step for North Korea in its rampant nuclear weapons development adventure. Their attacks could also capture key anti-submarine resources of South Korea, the United States and Japan,” he claims.

“The most serious threat”

South Korea doubted the submarine’s capabilitiespointing out that his neighbor to the north may have exaggerated them.

Japan expressed its concerns. Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said North Korea’s military activity ‘represents’ a more serious and immediate danger than what existed in the past for the security of our country.”

USA docked a nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine in South Korea in July, the first time the country has taken such a step in four decades.

The presentation of the North Korean submarine takes place days before the 75th anniversary of the founding of North Korea. Chinese state media have said a delegation from Beijing will attend the festivities.

It also precedes reports about it Kim plans to travel to Russia this month to meet with President Vladimir Putin.

Analysts believe that North Korea could request advanced weapons technology from Moscow at this meeting. (JO)

*With information from Jean Mackenzie (Seoul) and Kathryn Armstrong (London)