North Korea reveals its first-ever tactical nuclear-armed submarine

North Korea deploys its first operational "tactical nuclear attack submarine" to the fleet that patrols the seas bordering the Korean peninsula and Japan.

Leader Kim Jong Un declared during the launch ceremony on Wednesday that submarine No. 841, which was given the moniker Hero Kim Kun Ok in honor of a famous North Korean historical figure, will be one of the primary "underwater offensive means of the naval force" of his country.

According to analysts, the submarine appears to be a modified Romeo-class submarine from the Soviet era, which North Korea purchased from China in the 1970s and started manufacturing domestically. Analysts claimed that, given its design, which included 10 launch tube ports, it was most likely equipped with both ballistic and cruise missiles.

However, according to Vann Van Diepen, a former U.S. government weapons expert who is employed with the 38 North project in Washington, these types of arms won't add much value to the North's more potent land-based nuclear forces because the outdated submarines used as the basis for the new design are relatively loud, slow, and have a constrained range, meaning they may not survive as long during a war.

According to South Korea's military, there were indications that North Korea was attempting to overstate the submarine's capabilities and that it didn't appear to be ready for routine operations.

According to the news agency KCNA, at the launch ceremony, Kim declared that arming the navy with nuclear weapons was an urgent task and pledged to provide the naval forces with more surface and submerged vessels fitted with tactical nuclear weapons.

Resolutions of the UN Security Council forbade the development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles by North Korea, and South Korea and Japan denounced the submarine launch.