South Korea’s new submarine brings North Korean, Chinese bases within range
- The South Korean navy has commissioned its first domestically built submarine capable of launching ballistic missiles, putting it among a select group of countries
- The new sub – named the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho after a freedom fighter – gives navy the capability to hit sites in North Korea and (theoretically) missile bases in China
The South Korean navy has commissioned its first domestically built submarine capable of launching ballistic missiles in a development that will boost its ability to hunt North Korean boats and mount “surgical strikes” against Pyongyang.
It is the first of three 3,000-ton-class Changbogo-III Batch-I submarines that South Korea plans to build by 2023 with its own technologies as part of a 3.09 trillion won (US$2.7 billion) project launched in 2007. The country hopes to boost defence exports in future by selling similar submarines to other countries.
The commissioning ceremony for the mid-class diesel submarine, named after a South Korean independence fighter, took place at the Okpo Shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering on the southern island of Geoje on Friday.
“The Dosan Ahn Chang-ho will protect our waters by serving as a strategic sword, the mere presence of which will strike fear into the enemy,” Yang Yong-mo, commander of the submarine forces, said at the ceremony.
The 83.5 metre long by 9.6 metre wide submarine can carry 50 crew and is equipped with six vertical missile launchers. It can operate underwater for 20 days without surfacing, Yonhap news agency said.