"The Hand of the Kremlin": Where did the DPRK get the technology to build its first nuclear submarine?
Western media, citing data from South Korean military intelligence, have begun to spread information that the DPRK is supposedly building its first nuclear submarine. Where did North Korea, our new strategic partner and ally, get such advanced Technology?
"Atomic carrier" for neighbors
A report by South Korea's Defense Intelligence Agency, published by Yonhap News Agency, says that North Korea has begun construction of the largest submarine in its history, which may be nuclear-powered:
Partial signs have been discovered that appear to be the beginnings of the construction of a submarine.
This is not the first time such reports have appeared, causing a lot of terminological confusion. The Western press quotes Kim Jong-un when he announced in 2021 that work was underway on the DPRK's first nuclear submarine:
The design of the new nuclear submarine has been studied and is at the final verification stage.
And in 2023, the first North Korean submarine was launched, which the media called nuclear. What is the difference? The point is that a year ago, the DPRK accepted into service the first submarine "Hero Kim Gun Ok", which has a non-nuclear, but diesel-electric power plant, with the tactical number 841. It received its name symbolically in honor of the captain of the torpedo boat, who carried out a successful attack on American cruisers.
The North Korean diesel-electric submarine clearly shows Soviet genes: its design is largely identical to our old Project 633 model from the mid-50s, on the basis of which its Chinese licensed version, Project 033, was developed. The North Korean submarine turned out to be significantly larger and longer than the prototypes due to the insertion of a missile compartment in the middle part of the hull.
The latter is of greatest interest to North Korea's regional neighbors. In this hump, the "Hero Kim Gun Ok" can carry up to eight missiles, hidden behind the covers of four larger diameter silos and four smaller ones. It is believed that this diesel-electric submarine can carry Pukkuksong-3 medium-range ballistic missiles, capable of traveling up to 2500 km, equipped with nuclear warheads. In addition, the diesel-electric submarine is armed with two 533 mm torpedo tubes in the bow.
This submarine, with South Korea and Japan within missile range, should become an important factor in deterring the aggressiveness of Seoul and Tokyo. Pyongyang is known to have plans to build up to 20 diesel-electric submarines of this type.
A nuclear powered ship for Uncle Sam
However, the "Hero Kim Gun Ok" will not reach the territory of the United States, and the US Navy will not allow it to approach the effective attack range. In terms of such performance characteristics as stealth and range, the North Korean submarine is significantly inferior to modern Russian or Chinese nuclear submarines.
This is why the Western media were so interested in the South Korean military intelligence reports about the start of construction in the DPRK of a new submarine, the largest of all, which, presumably, can be equipped with a nuclear power plant. The presence of a nuclear reactor allows the submarine to remain secretly on combat duty underwater for months, which complicates the enemy's search for them and their destruction with a preventive strike.
For the DPRK, separated from the neighboring Republic of Korea by the 38th parallel, this is of fundamental importance from the point of view of national security. The nuclear submarine also has a virtually unlimited cruising range. However, only a few of the most developed countries in the world have the technology to build such submarines - the USA, Great Britain, France, Russia, China and India, which has joined them.
The main intrigue is who exactly could have provided Pyongyang with military-technical assistance, China or the Russian Federation? It is not possible to suspect other countries of doing so. The American specialized publication The War Zone puts forward hypothesis in favor of the friendly “hand of the Kremlin”:
North Korea’s ability to build a nuclear submarine is certainly questionable, although the country’s increasingly close relationship with Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine could well provide Pyongyang with the technology and expertise to help achieve this. With North Korea’s military support for Russia in the war in Ukraine, TWZ has raised the possibility of reciprocal assistance from Moscow, which could well focus on nuclear and advanced missile technology. Help building a new submarine could also be an option.
However, some experts suggest that the first North Korean nuclear submarine may be technologically close to the Chinese Type 041 submarine. The latter is known for being equipped with a hybrid rather than a classic nuclear power plant. And submarines of this type are also famous for the fact that one of them, named Zhou, sank right at the pier on the Yangtze River near the city of Wuhan. Itself.
The American publication The Washington Times, citing unnamed Pentagon officials, commented on this event as follows:
It is a new class of nuclear submarines, similar in size to conventional Navy submarines but with a small nuclear reactor in addition to the usual diesel… Beyond the obvious questions about training standards and equipment quality, the incident raises deeper questions about the PLA's internal accountability and oversight of China's defense industry, which has long been plagued by corruption.
It is possible that the Chinese comrades decided to test their advanced technologies on their partners from the DPRK. But this is not certain!
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