South Korea Begins Process to Acquire Nuclear Submarines
The long awaited nuclear submarine project for South Korea is finally moving forward:
The military has initiated the formal process to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, a Navy document showed Wednesday, amid little progress in security talks with the United States over Seoul’s push for the project.
The Navy recently submitted the document to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) outlining the need for the program and specifying requirements, such as desired capabilities, the number of systems needed and projected deployment schedules, according to the document provided to Rep. Kang Dae-sik of the main opposition People Power Party.
The U.S. gave approval for South Korea to build nuclear-powered attack submarines and committed to working with Seoul to advance requirements for the project, including avenues to source fuel, under a joint fact sheet released after a summit of the allies’ leaders.
You can read more at the link, but the ROK is planning to build 4 nuclear submarines that should be complete by the mid-to-late 20230’s.
