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Russia Allegedly Supplies North Korea with Nuclear Submarine Technology
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South Korea is investigating reports that Russia may have supplied North Korea with nuclear submarine reactor modules, marking a potential breakthrough in Pyongyang’s pursuit of a nuclear-powered navy, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on September 18.
Analysts believe such a transfer is plausible given the growing military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, especially amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
According to JoongAng Ilbo, Russia may have provided North Korea with reactor cores, turbines, and cooling systems from decommissioned submarines earlier this year.
While South Korean officials have not confirmed the reports, experts suggest that North Korea’s push for advanced submarine technology may have led Moscow to comply, SCMP writes.
“It’s highly possible that North Korea pressed Russia for help with nuclear propulsion,” said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification.
North Korea’s limited shipbuilding capacity has hindered its ability to build missile-launching submarines, as seen with the Hero Kim Kun-ok, which has not been deployed despite being touted as a nuclear attack submarine.
Recent state media images showed Kim Jong-un at a facility described as a nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine construction site, signaling North Korea’s ongoing ambitions.
Experts note, however, that North Korea still lacks the technical capability to build such submarines, particularly due to the challenges in developing compact nuclear reactors, according to SCMP.
If Russia did supply the technology, North Korea could reverse-engineer it to develop its own capabilities.
Lee Il-woo, a researcher at the Korea Defence Network, speculates that Russia may have provided North Korea with either reactor modules or an old Delta-IV class submarine, as North Korea lacks the materials to build such advanced technology independently.
Despite these developments, experts stress that South Korea maintains a significant technological advantage.
South Korea operates domestically-built, 3,000-tonne diesel-electric attack submarines and has successfully tested submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), underscoring its edge in the region’s naval capabilities.
Previously, North Korea had firmly rejected the United States' call to abandon nuclear weaponary, according to a statement by the Permanent Mission of the DPRK to the UN and international organizations in Vienna.
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