N Korea building two submarines: Lawmaker
North Korea is building two new submarines, including one with the capacity of firing ballistic missiles, a South Korean lawmaker said on Tuesday, carrying out a closed-door briefing by the South's National Intelligence Service.North Korea has a sizable submarine fleet but only one known experimental submarine with the capacity of carrying a ballistic missile.
"Among the submarines North Korea is building can carry a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM)," Ha Tae-keung, an opposition party lawmaker on parliament's intelligence committee, told Reuters. "One is a modified Romeo Class and the other is a new medium-large size one." North Korea has been at the mercy of UN Security Council sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump have met three times since 2018, but failed to make progress on US demands Pyongyang to stop its nuclear weapons and North Korea's demands for a finish to sanctions. In July 2019 state media showed Kim inspecting a big, newly built submarine. While North Korea did not describe the submarine's weapons systems, analysts said the apparent size of the vessel indicated it was made to carry missiles.
Later that year North Korea said it had successfully test-fired a new SLBM from the sea, and last month it showcased a new SLBM design during a military parade in Pyongyang.Kim's vow to unveil new strategic weapons this season also resulted in speculation that North Korea could soon deploy an operational ballistic missile submarine.
North Korea unveiled a total of 76 intercontinental ballistic missiles in nine different kinds at a military parade on Oct 10, that showcased the country's long-range weapons for the first time in two years, Yonhap news agency reported, citing Ha. The weapons showcased this season were the largest of most past military parades in scale, he said.
The lawmaker also said there is circumstantial evidence indicating that Kim had ordered an investigation into the North Korean troops who shot dead a South Korean fisheries official who went missing in late September, Yonhap reported.North Korea the other day said the shooting of the South Korean man in its waters last month was a self-defensive measure amid concerns about the coronavirus.
