Kim Jong Un leads and urges the fast growth of North Korea’s Navy and Nuclear Power.
North Korea Sends Out First ‘Small Nuclear Attack Submarine’ as Part of Kim’s Plan for Strong Navy”
The submarine, called Hero Kim Kun Ok, was launched on Wednesday. Kim Jong Un was there to watch it happen. This is a big step in Kim’s plan to have a strong navy with nuclear weapons to stand against the United States and its Asian friends.
The submarine is made to shoot small nuclear weapons underwater, according to KCNA. This marks the start of a new phase for North Korea’s navy.
The exact number of missiles it can carry wasn’t mentioned, but experts who looked at state media pictures guessed it might hold up to 10 of North Korea’s Pukgoksong-3 weapons and launch them from underwater.
However, there’s still a lot we don’t know. Robert Kelly, a professor at Pusan University, said this is all pretty new. One big question is how the submarine moves; if it’s too noisy, it’s easier to detect. And it’s not clear if North Korea’s long-range missiles can accurately hit a specific target, so the submarine might not be able to go very far.
In the official pictures, the launch looked like a big party with bright balloons and confetti. Kim was greeted by many people at the dock, including women in pretty Korean outfits holding flowers and flags. The sailors clapped together as he walked on a red carpet with important officers following.
The submarine, Hero Kim Kun Ok, will go to the waters between Korea and Japan, according to state media. Kim said it will be a major part of North Korea’s naval force for attacks underwater. He also mentioned plans to make their other submarines armed with nuclear weapons and to speed up making submarines that run on nuclear power.
The North Korean leader said that we must quickly make our navy stronger. This is really important because of the aggressive actions of our enemies, like the United States and South Korea. Kim also emphasized the importance of making our navy have nuclear weapons.
“Some experts doubt the effectiveness of the submarine, and they think it shows that Kim’s focus on the military hurts the North Korean people. The head of human rights at the United Nations, Volker Turk, recently told the Security Council that North Korea is letting its people go hungry while spending more on its armed forces.
One expert, Leif-Eric Easley from Ewha University in Seoul, said, ‘If there was about to be a fight in Korea, you wouldn’t want to be on that submarine. Even if it can’t really launch nuclear attacks, that noisy, slow boat could be sunk right after it sets sail from port.’ He thinks this is another example of North Korea using resources in the wrong way, instead of taking care of its people. Kim wants a stronger military, but when Pyongyang seems more threatening, it’s actually less safe.
In recent years, North Korea has been testing many different weapons. They even claimed to have a new kind of missile that can be launched from a submarine. Kim is working hard to make the country’s military more modern. However, the United Nations has rules that say North Korea can’t do tests like these with ballistic missiles.
Experts first noticed signs of a new submarine being built in 2016. Then, in 2019, pictures from the state media showed Kim checking out a submarine that nobody knew about before. He paid special attention to its construction, and it was going to be used in the waters near the east coast.
North Korea has quite a few submarines, but only one, the experimental missile submarine called 8.24 Yongung (which means “August 24 Hero”), is known to have actually launched a missile.
A big group of important Chinese officials is coming to North Korea on Friday. They’re visiting because North Korea is getting ready to celebrate its 75th birthday on Saturday, likely with a big parade.
The US says that Kim might also go to Russia this month, maybe even next week, to meet President Vladimir Putin.
According to what American spies have found out, when they meet, they’ll talk about North Korea giving weapons to Russia. North Korea doesn’t just want food and energy assistance; they’re also interested in getting more advanced weapons tech, like for submarines that run on nuclear power. These kinds of submarines are much quieter than the ones that run on diesel.
SOURCE: ALJAZEERA