By Max Stephens

 

PYONG YONG, 26 Dec. - (ANA) - Kim, 41, said the submarine’s completion would be an “epoch-making” change in strengthening its nuclear war deterrent against what he described as “enemy threats”.

 

The despot denounced South Korea’s United States-backed efforts to acquire a nuclear-powered submarine as an “offensive act”, which he claimed, “gravely infringes” on North Korea’s security and maritime sovereignty.

 

The submarine’s construction appears to be an attempt by North Korea to rival the Royal Navy’s fleet of four Vanguard-class submarines, which are armed with ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads.

 

It is the first time since March that the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) has released images of the submarine, which previously had mostly shown the vessel’s lower sections.

 

Missiles tested over Japanese sea

KCNA also criticised the recent ‌entry of a US nuclear-powered submarine into a ⁠South Korean port, calling it “an act of escalating military tensions” on the Korean ‍Peninsula and in the region.

 

On Wednesday, North Korea launched a long-range surface-to-air missile over the East Sea, shared with Japan, in a test reportedly overseen by Kim.

 

The test, designed to assess the capabilities of the new high-altitude missile, destroyed targets in the air from 200km (120 miles) away, KCNA said.

 

South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff confirmed the missile test occurred at 5pm.

 

Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul said Pyongyang itself is responsible for heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

 

“[Kim] is probably right that a build-up of nuclear-powered submarines will increase instability around the Korean Peninsula, but he has himself to blame for the arms race,” he told CNN.

 

“It is Pyongyang that disavows diplomacy with Seoul, threatens its neighbours with nuclear weapons, and deepens the suffering of its own people by devoting massive resources to military dictatorship rather than economic development,” he said.

 

KCNA also revealed that Kim had received a message from Russia’s president Vladimir Putin on Dec 18, saying the “heroic” participation of North Korean soldiers in the Ukraine war “clearly proved the invincible friendship” between the two countries.

 

The year 2025 had a “special meaning” for the relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang, Putin said in the message to Kim.   - (ANA) - 

 

AB/ANA/26 December 2025 - - -