The statement comes amid concerns that Pyongyang could receive critical military technology from Russia in exchange for sending troops and weapons to fight in Ukraine.
North Korea said Saturday it was building its first nuclear submarine to boost its nuclear weapons capabilities, with state news media showing the country's leader Kim Jong Un inspecting part of what appeared to be a new submarine larger than any the country has.
The announcement, made in state media, comes amid concerns among U.S. and South Korean officials that the North could be receiving technological assistance from Russia to modernize its military in exchange for sending troops and conventional weapons to help in the war against Ukraine.
Mr. Kim “learned about the construction of a nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine,” the official Korean Central News Agency said in a report on Saturday of his visit to an unidentified naval shipyard. The agency published photographs that appeared to show the hull of the submarine under construction.
It was the first time North Korea announced it was building a nuclear submarine and showed a photograph of it.
North Korea has dozens of old Soviet submarines, all diesel-powered, that would have to surface frequently to recharge their batteries during long voyages like crossing the Pacific. A nuclear submarine that could travel long distances without surfacing would enhance North Korea’s ability to approach a distant enemy like the United States without being detected and launch nuclear missiles at it.
State news media on Saturday quoted Mr Kim as saying his country's naval power would be “fully displayed in any necessary waters without restrictions”.
