South Korea Seals the Deal with a Missile‑Capable Submarine
In a splash that might make even the quietest navy nerves ripple, South Korea introduced its first missile‑armed attack sub Saturday, a bold leap that arrives amid a surprisingly calm diplomatic atmosphere with the nuclear‑armed North.
What the Sub Can Do
- Weight & Cost: 3,000 tonnes, built for roughly $700 million (S$958 million).
- Launch Power: Six vertical launch tubes that can fire both cruise and ballistic missiles.
- Self‑Vertical: Indigenous sonar and combat‑management systems built in-house.
- Future Fleet: First of three diesel‑electric boats to be commissioned over the next five years.
Political and Strategic Snapshot
President Moon Jae‑in grinned as the sub rose from the Daewoo shipyard, declaring it a “leap forward in the country’s defence industry” and noting the solemn march “toward denuclearisation” of the Korean peninsula. Yet, he warned that peace won’t come just by waving a stick of the cannon.
Moon is jetting to Pyongyang next week for the third summit with Kim Jong Un, as Western pressure tanks up a stalled push for the North to ditch its nuclear arsenal.
The Bigger Picture
South Korea’s new addition joins an existing fleet of 18 smaller subs, all spit‑out through German collaboration. By contrast, North Korea boasts 70 ageing subs and even a 2,500‑tonne new sub with a vertical launch system of its own, per defences and Yonhap news.
In essence, the South Koreans are not only pushing the envelope—they’re practically writing a new chapter in the maritime arms playbook while diplomatic folks chat over coffee.
