Seoul’s SSN programme launch raises questions on fuel, tech and build location
Artistic rendering of the future nuclear-powered submarine under South Korea’s Jangbogo-N Project. (Photo: Republic of Korea Ministry of National Defense official X account)
Seoul has unveiled its “Jangbogo-N Project” to develop domestically built, nuclear-propelled attack submarines in close coordination with Washington, marking an escalation of the Republic of Korea’s deterrence posture against Pyongyang’s undersea nuclear capabilities.
South Korea formally announced its intent to develop nuclear-propelled submarines on 26 May, releasing the “Basic Plan for the Development of Nuclear-Powered Submarines in the Republic of Korea” – the first document of its kind to lay out a roadmap for Seoul to enter an exclusive club of nations operating nuclear-propelled submarine fleets.
The Republic of Korea (ROK) Ministry of National Defense (MND) framed the initiative, branded the Jangbogo-N Project, as a direct response to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) advancing submarine-based nuclear and missile capabilities.
The rationale for the programme is rooted in a deteriorating undersea threat
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