Fleet modernization

Why Kim Jong Un’s new submarine is making Seoul nervous

Archive image: Kim Jong Un with North Korean submariners. The dictator wants to modernize the fleet, most of which dates back to Soviet times.(Bild: AFP)

Stalinist North Korea is not necessarily known internationally as a naval power, but it does have a large navy. It comprises more than 160 small patrol and missile boats, a handful of frigates and corvettes - and as many as 35 submarines. A planned new addition to the submarine fleet is making the South Korean secret service nervous.

With 35 submarines, North Korea has the fourth largest submarine fleet in the world behind Russia, the USA and China, according to figures from the military portal "Global Firepower". Some military analysts believe that there are as many as 64 to 86 submarines flying the North Korean flag. However, this figure also includes up to 40 small submarines of the "Sang-o" type. Although they are equipped with torpedoes, they are primarily used for espionage purposes and allow combat divers to disembark. They are apparently used to bring agents to the South Korean coast. However, they are not classified as a threat to South Korean cities - in contrast to another submarine that North Korea is working on.