Military Watch Magazine

North Korea Refurbishing its First Nuclear Ballistic Missile Submarine Built for Strikes on U.S. Forces

Commercial satellite imagery has revealed North Korea’s first ballistic missile submarine, the unique sole vessel of the Gorae class ship, has been placed in drydock at the Sinpho South Shipyard, fuelling speculation that it may be benefitting from upgrades and refurbishment work. The submarine represents an earlier stage in the country’s efforts to develop a submarine-launched ballistic missile capability, and was first used to test ballistic missiles in 2016. The submarine is considerably smaller and less capable than more recent North Korean ballistic missile submarine concepts, with the country’s submarine industry having matured considerably over the past decade allowing it to make progress on constructing its first nuclear powered submarine.