A Christmas gift for Kim Jong-un. In recent hours, North Korean media have released images confirming the considerable progress made by Pyongyang in the construction of its first 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine. A dream pursued by the Marshal since at least 2021, when he discussed the achievement of this objective at the party congress. The state agency KCNA spread the news, announcing that the submarine was inspected by the dictator and his daughter Kim Ju-ae, increasingly considered the designated heir of the leader of the Hermit Kingdom.
Shots from Kim Jong-un’s visit to the shipyard, located in an unspecified location, show the submarine’s largely completed fuselage. During the inspection, the head of the North Korean regime stated that this is a crucial step in the modernization and nuclear armament of the North Korean navy. There North Koreareports theAssociated Presshas indicated that he intends to arm the submarine with nuclear weapons, calling it a “strategic missile submarine“oh one”strategic nuclear attack submarine“.
The comment that Kim-Jong-un made to South Korea, which also intends to build its own nuclear-powered submarine with the administration’s blessing, did not go unnoticed Trump. Seoul’s efforts, the North Korean dictator said, are “an offensive act“which seriously violates Pyongyang’s maritime security and sovereignty. The Marshal then stressed that the South Korean plan further highlights the need to nuclearly upgrade and arm North Korea’s navy and that the completion of its nuclear-powered submarine would represent a game changer”epochal“in strengthening nuclear deterrence against enemy threats.
It is not clear when Kim Jong-un made the visit to the shipyard or how close the submarine is to completion. It is the first time North Korean media have published images of the submarine since March, when the lower sections of the vessel were shown. Moon Keun-Sik, an expert at Hanyang University in Seoul, explains that shots of the largely completed hull would suggest that many of its major components, including the engine and perhaps the reactor, have already been built and that it could therefore be tested at sea within a few months.
Up until now there were many doubts among experts about Pyongyang’s ability to build a nuclear submarine but some analysts believe that Moscow may have provided the North Korean regime with crucial technology in exchange for the support provided by Kim Jong-un to Vladimir Putin in the context of the conflict in Ukraine. The message released in recent hours by the Kremlin czar confirms the alliance between the two heads of state. The Russian leader has in fact sent Kim Jong-un “your warmest wishes for the arrival of the new year” noting how 2025 was an important year in the relations between the two countries.
According to the president of the Federation, “heroic participation“of North Korean soldiers”in the liberation of the Kursk region” and the subsequent work carried out by the “Korean deminers on Russian territory“were”a clear sign of invincible friendship” and of “militant brotherhood” between Russia and North Korea.
