The submarine was identified at the Sinpo shipyard, North Korea's main submarine production facility and headquarters of the Maritime Research Institute, responsible for the research and development of marine and submarine technology. According to analysts, the boat could have a displacement of 900-1500 tons, but judging by the images it would not have missile capabilities. North Korea, in the past, has built experimental submarines to test the new weapon systems and, probably, the one identified by the satellites could be just one of them. The shape of the new submarine resembles that of the Heroj class, Yugoslav projects acquired by Pyongyang in the 1970. The information currently available on the real capacity of the North Korean submarine fleet remains scarce. According to official information, the fleet should consist of twenty Romeo class boats, forty Sang-O class and ten mini Yono class submarines. The real efficiency of the submarine force remains unknown.
Franco Iacch
(photo: AFP repertoire)
