A new mystery submarine has been spotted in satellite photographs taken of a North Korean shipyard amid recent reports that the Hermit Kingdom has been building a submersible that can launch nukes, according to a report.
North Korean monitoring group 38 North first reported in May about the new sub, which it referred to as an “unusual object,” according to Forbes underwater warfare reporter H. I. Sutton, who dubbed it the Sinpo-B Class after the secretive shipyard where it was seen.
In August 2019, satellite images revealed that the rogue regime was building a submarine that could launch ballistic missiles — signaling that Pyongyang was inching toward having an alternative means of delivering nuclear weapons.
The photos taken then of the Sinpo South Shipyard appeared to confirm North Korean state media reports of a “newly built” sub that leader Kim Jong Un had inspected earlier.
The latest watercraft could be a new class of midget sub or extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle, or XLUUV, according to the Forbes report, which said it was more likely that it is a tiny crewed submersible.
Sutton cited two reasons for that assessment — first that the sub has a conning tower, which traditionally provides access to the crew above the water line, and secondly, the technology involved in an XLUUV project would be far more complex for the resource-challenged country.
The Forbes article noted that an XLUUV sub cannot be ruled out because some of them have conning towers even without crews.
North Korea, which probably possesses the world’s largest submarine flee, albeit a mostly antiquated one, has a long history of producing mini-subs, which it has also deployed against South Korea, the news outlet reported.
In March 2010, a South Korean warship was destroyed by a torpedo that is believed to have been fired by a North Korean MS-29 Yono Class midget sub, according to Forbes.
The new sub is likely to be an even smaller version of the MS-29, the outlet reported.