What would a North Korean nuclear submarine mean for US and its allies?

A submarine hidden off North Korea’s eastern coast could put all of South Korea and Japan within range

Despite vague promises to ‘denuclearise’, Kim Jong-un’s goal remains international recognition as a nuclear state

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump meet last June. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:00am, 6 Feb 2020Updated: 6:11am, 6 Feb 2020

Kim Jong-un has spent much of his time as North Korea’s leader developing bigger and more advanced nuclear weapons. This year, he may try to make them harder to find by putting them under the sea.

Recent North Korean reports touting a new submarine and its test of a ballistic missile designed to be launched from one have fuelled speculation that a sub may be the “new strategic weapon” Kim promised to unveil this year.

While such a vessel would probably be noisy and unable to stray far from the coast without being tracked, it may be enough to serve Kim’s needs.

Even one submarine lurking off the Korean peninsula, beyond the gaze of spy satellites, would give US military planners a dangerous new threat to consider in the event of any conflict. And for Kim, anything that makes it harder for the US to imagine an actual war, brings him closer to a goal that alluded his father: international recognition as a nuclear state.

“In terms of war planning, the US, South Korea, and Japan need to take the undersea nuclear threat seriously and plan for anti-submarine warfare contingencies,” said Ankit Panda, an adjunct senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists and author of the upcoming book Kim Jong-un and the Bomb: Survival and Deterrence in North Korea.

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