NORTH Korea has announced that it has launched a nuclear attack submarine after several years of development, something South Korea criticized and stated that it was not operating normally.
Kim Jong Un attended the launching ceremony of the said vessel on Wednesday and said it was a good start to building a navy capable of repelling the United States and South Korea.
According to Pyongyang’s state agency KCNA, the submarine was designed to launch nuclear weapons from underwater, but it is not clear how many missiles it can carry and fly.
Reports say this would strengthen North Korea’s nuclear deterrence because it could fly after avoiding a nuclear attack on the ground.
Kim, meanwhile, stated that the submarine will perform its combat mission as one of the core underwater offensive means of the naval force of North Korea.
Pyongyang now plans to expand its submarine capabilities in the country and build nuclear-powered vessels in the future.
The new submarine is named Hero Kim Kun Ok in honor of a historical figure in North Korea, and analysts first discovered signs that it was under construction in 2016.
