North Korea unveiled its new “tactical nuclear attack submarine” in a ceremony led by leader Kim Jong Un, aimed at bolstering the nation’s deterrence and defense capabilities.

During the ceremony, Kim Jong Un, on Wednesday, expressed that this new submarine marked a significant step toward “nuclear weaponizing the Navy in the future.”

The launch of the submarine, named the Hero Kim Kun Ok, signifies the commencement of a fresh chapter in strengthening North Korea’s naval force.

In a celebratory event featuring confetti and balloons, Kim emphasized “the strategic and tactical plan to continually enhance the modernization of underwater and surface forces and advance the nuclear weaponization of the Navy in the future,” as conveyed by North Korean state media.

On Thursday, Kim inspected the submarine during its preparations for a test cruise.

“He emphasized the urgency of arming the navy with nuclear weapons, stressing the importance of swiftly transferring underwater and surface vessels equipped with tactical nuclear weapons to the Navy to enable it to fulfill its strategic responsibilities effectively,” Kim was quoted.

Analysts initially observed indications of the construction of at least one new submarine in 2016. In 2019, state media displayed Kim inspecting a previously undisclosed submarine, which had been built under “his special attention” and was set to operate in the waters off the east coast.

At that time, state media did not provide details about the submarine’s weapon systems or disclose the location and date of the inspection.

However, experts believed that the apparent size of the new vessel suggested it was designed to carry missiles.

The specific missiles that the new submarine would be armed with remain unclear. North Korea has conducted test launches of various submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), including long-range and short-range SLBMs, as well as cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines.

It remains uncertain whether North Korea has successfully developed miniaturized nuclear warheads suitable for these missiles. Analysts suggest that perfecting smaller warheads would likely be a significant objective if North Korea resumes nuclear testing.

North Korea possesses a substantial submarine fleet, but to date, only the experimental ballistic missile submarine 8.24 Yongung (August 24th Hero) is known to have conducted a missile launch.

Tal Inbar, a senior research fellow at the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, noted that the submarine’s large sail appeared to have the capacity for both ballistic and cruise missiles.

He stated, “It won’t be long before we will see it launch missiles,” in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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