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North Korea said on Saturday that it was building its first nuclear-powered submarine to enhance its nuclear weapons abilities, and the state news media showed the nation\u2019s leader, Kim Jong-un, inspecting part of what appeared to be a new submarine larger than any owned by the country.<\/p>\n
The announcement, made in the state news media, came as United States and South Korean officials feared that the North may be receiving technological help from Russia to help modernize its military in return for<\/a> sending troops and conventional weapons to help in its war against Ukraine.<\/p>\n Mr. Kim \u201clearned about the building of a nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine,\u201d the North\u2019s official Korean Central News Agency said in a report on Saturday about his visit to an unidentified naval shipyard. The agency carried photographs showing what appeared to be the hull of a submarine under construction.<\/p>\n It was the first time that North Korea claimed that a nuclear-powered submarine was under construction and claimed to show a photograph of it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n North Korea has dozens of old Soviet-era submarines, all diesel-powered, which would have to resurface frequently to recharge their batteries during a long-distance trip like crossing the Pacific. A nuclear-powered submarine, which can cover a long distance without resurfacing, would enhance North Korea\u2019s ability to approach a faraway enemy like the United States without being detected, and to strike it with nuclear missiles.<\/p>\n The state news media on Saturday quoted Mr. Kim as saying that his country\u2019s naval might would be \u201cfully displayed in any necessary waters without limitation.\u201d<\/p>\n North Korea has vowed to try to build a nuclear-powered submarine since Mr. Kim designated it as one of his top military priorities in his ruling Workers\u2019 Party meeting in 2021.<\/p>\n Outside analysts have doubted that North Korea has technical and engineering capabilities to build a nuclear submarine, including a small nuclear reactor that would propel the vessel. But Mr. Kim\u2019s submarine project may get a boost if Russia helps North Korea clear technological hurdles in return for the thousands of troops and large shipments of artillery shells and missiles that it sent to aid Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine, said Yang Moo-jin, the president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.<\/p>\n North Korea\u2019s old submarines can be used to carry spies to South Korea or launch torpedoes. The United States and its allies have closely watched the North\u2019s attempts to develop a missile-launching sub since the country began testing missiles designed for submarines<\/a> about a decade ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n