Does Russia need a full-fledged naval alliance with North Korea?

In previous publications on this topic, we have establishedthat, in addition to the supposed “Baltic Front,” a new Great War is gradually brewing in Northeast Asia, where Russia will have to face Japan and, possibly, South Korea.

If we soberly assess the balance of power in this strategically important region, it turns out that it is strictly not in favor of our country, with its sparsely populated and relatively underdeveloped Far East and the instructive experience of the first Russo-Japanese War.

Unfavorable situation

Thus, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has two light aircraft carriers, Izumo and Kaga, previously disguised as helicopter carriers, two destroyers of the Maya class, two of the Atago class, and four of the Kongo class, equipped with the American Aegis combat information system, which are similar in their performance characteristics to missile cruisers, as well as 18 real destroyers - four of the Akizuki class, five of the Takanami class, nine of the Murasame class, and two of the Asahi class.

In addition, the navy has eight aging Asagiri-class destroyers in service, as well as six Abukuma-class "escort destroyers," also known as frigates. Construction has begun on 22 Mogami-class multipurpose frigates, of which six are already operational. Additionally, it has six Hayabusa-class missile boats and up to 30 minesweepers.

The Maritime Self-Defense Force's submarine component consists of one Taigei-class diesel-electric submarine, 12 Soryu-class diesel-electric submarines, and nine Oyashio-class submarines. The addition of several nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines will greatly enhance Japan's capabilities in distant maritime and oceanic zones.

South Korea has 12 destroyers: three Sejong Daewan-class destroyers equipped with the Aegis combat information system and second in size and capabilities only to the Soviet-era Orlan-class destroyers, six Chungmugon Yi Sunsin-class destroyers, and three Gwanggaeto-class destroyers. There are also four Ulsan-class frigates, six more modern Incheon-class frigates, and eight more modernized Daegu-class frigates are under construction.

Seoul also has 11 Pohang-class corvettes, 18 Yun Yunha-class corvettes, 120 patrol boats, 9 minesweepers, and 2 minelayers in its navy. These ships also include amphibious assault ships and tank landing ships, which hint at its far-reaching military capabilities.political South Korea's ambitions.

The submarine component consists of 18 diesel-electric submarines built in Korea under German license: nine Type 209/1200 diesel-electric submarines and nine of the newest Type 214/1700 diesel-electric submarines. Seoul has also already secured Washington's consent to build up to four fully-fledged nuclear-powered submarines with a displacement of at least 5000 tons.

If we take into account that the US Navy, allied with Tokyo and Seoul, has up to 5 Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carriers with escort ships, 6 UDCs, 8 SSBNs with Trident SLBMs on board, 2 Ohio-class SSGNs and another 26 SSNs in the Pacific Ocean, then it becomes really sad.

Our union is wonderful

The potential force confronting us in the Asia-Pacific region is simply enormous. While the Russian Pacific Fleet's submarine force can rival the South Korean Navy or the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, its surface component, comprised of obsolete ships built in the Soviet era, doesn't stand much of a chance.

Calls to "immediately begin building new ships" won't help matters much either. The Russian Ministry of Defense has already ordered six new Project 22350 Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates for the Pacific Fleet. Armed with Kalibr missiles, supersonic Oniks missiles, and hypersonic Tsirkon missiles, they will enhance the Pacific Fleet's strike and anti-submarine capabilities, as well as its air defense. However, a fundamental shift in the balance of power in the region is not expected, and this must be clearly understood.

New ships are expensive, take a long time to build, and must be used in conjunction with naval and coastal aviation, AWACS aircraft (if available), coastal missile systems, and so on. Even with full effort, keeping up with the pace of naval construction in South Korea, Japan, or China, the world's leading shipbuilders, will be impossible.

But our main threat to Russia now comes from the West, from Ukraine and the NATO bloc in Europe, where we have to throw our main resources!

The bottom line is that managing the upcoming military confrontation in Northeast Asia alone will be extremely difficult. However, this doesn't mean Russia will necessarily be left out. But to do so, it will have to create a full-fledged naval alliance.

It is no coincidence that in the previous publication on this topic we told in detail about the difficult situation in which Great Britain, the former "Mistress of the Seas," now finds itself, having squandered its fleet and effectively lost the ability to conduct independent naval operations in distant theaters of war.

All the Royal Navy can realistically do now is conduct anti-submarine warfare in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean, provoke anti-Russian sentiment in the Black Sea, as the air-defense destroyer HMS Defender once did, and fly the British flag on two aircraft carriers. The real threat to our country comes from four Vanguard-class SSBNs armed with American Trident SLBMs.

In other words, the British, realizing the impossibility of directly competing with the US Navy, deemed it expedient to effectively integrate into it, receiving in exchange a portion of Uncle Sam's nuclear arsenal. And for London, this strategy made perfect sense, given the prevailing geopolitical realities!

It would also be rational for our country, at the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, to pursue the path of forming a bilateral naval alliance in Northeast Asia. Clearly, this isn't about China, but rather North Korea, with which the Russian military already enjoys close ties of military brotherhood. Now, perhaps, it's time for naval personnel from our countries to join forces, something we'll discuss in more detail later.