North Korea seems to be building a new submarine capable of firing several submarine-launched ballistic missiles, the website 38 North said Friday.
Analysis of satellite imagery from the North's shipqyard in Sinpo taken on Sept. 24 seems to show a 10-m-diameter circular component on a large rail-mounted transfer table. This "may be intended as a construction-jig or as a component for the pressure hull of a new submarine," the website said.
The North's current 2,000-ton submarine, which has a 6.5 m diameter and is 67 m long, has only one torpedo tube. It can therefore carry only one missile and is vulnerable to accidents when it is fired.
Many experts predicted the North would begin building a bigger submarine to overcome that weakness. Back in August, the North succeeded in test-firing an SLBM. |