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Home» News»North Korea May Be Building New Ballistic Missile Submarine
North Korea May Be Building New Ballistic Missile Submarine
Google Earth image showing: 1- a large number of cylindrical objects (estimated to be 10 meters in diameter) 2- a new floating barge likely used for testing

North Korea May Be Building New Ballistic Missile Submarine

North Korea may be building a new submarine capable of deploying submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) South Korean newspaper "Chosun Ilbo" reported today.

Xavier Vavasseur 05 Apr 2019

As the newspaper noted, recent satellite imageries from March 2 show a large number of cylindrical components and parts presumed to be submarine bulkheads at the Sinpo shipyard in North Korea.

A new floating barge is also present in the vicinity, which could be used for underwater testing.

“A large quantity of components presumably needed to build a 3,000-ton sub, which the North has been developing, have turned up recently at a shipyard in Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province. We’ve also spotted a floating dock deployed off Sinpo, apparently for a missile test” a senior South Korean military spokesman said.

The diameter of the purported hull sections is 10 meters. According to the newspaper, calculations show that with such a diameter, the displacement of the new submarine should be around 3000 tons and that it could potentially carry 3 to 4 ballistic missiles.

A 2016 photo from North Korean Central News Agency showing the underwater test-fire of a
KN-11 (Pukkuksong-1) SLBM.

The DPRK Navy currently has only one Sinpo-class submarine with a displacement of about 2,000 tons and can be equipped with only one ballistic missile. Thus, this submarine has quite a limited strategic strike capability.

If Pyongyang manages to build a new, larger, ballistic missile submarine, it will increase its ability to deliver a strategic strike. A submarine is much harder to detect and destroyer than land based launchers (even mobiles ones). In addition, the DPRK is rumored to continue the development of the Pukkuksong-3 SLBM, the range of which will exceed the capabilities of previous missile of the Pukkuksong family (namely the 1 and 2 variant) with an estimated range of approximately 2,000 km.

Ballistic Missile North Korea SLBM Submarine 2019-04-05
Tags Ballistic Missile North Korea SLBM Submarine
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Authors

Posted by : Xavier Vavasseur
Xavier is based in Paris, France. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). Xavier has been covering naval defense topics for nearly a decade.

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