The ROK Navy recently fielded new submarines that are large enough to house separate living areas for female sailors:
One of the United States’ closest military allies has selected its first group of enlisted women to serve aboard submarines starting next year.
Seven female noncommissioned officers were chosen from more than 20 applicants to undergo training for submarine service, the Ministry of National Defense said in a press release Monday.
Training is expected to last until January or February and is required for all submariners, a South Korean navy spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Tuesday.
Two commissioned naval officers selected last month to serve on a submarine are also undergoing training, the spokesman added.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
Nuclear weapons will be returning to South Korea for the first time in decades:
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| Lt. Gen. Scott L. Pleus, deputy commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, speaks during a peace forum hosted by Yonhap News Agency and the unification ministry at a hotel in central Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap |
The United States will send a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea “in the near future” for the first time in decades, in another show of the U.S. commitment to the defense of its ally, the deputy commander of the U.S. Forces Korea said Thursday.
Korea Times
Lt. Gen. Scott L. Pleus, who doubles as the commander of the U.S. Seventh Air Force, made the remarks at an annual forum hosted by Yonhap News Agency and the unification ministry in Seoul as the allies seek to bolster efforts to deter North Korea’s evolving military threats.
“In the near future, you can expect another show of the U.S. commitment to extended deterrence by a port visit by the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine,” he said, without specifying the timing of its visit.
You can read more at the link.
This is apparently going to be a major topic during President Yoon’s upcoming summit with Prime Minister Trudeau:
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| The KSS-III Shin Chae-ho / Courtesy of Republic of Korea Navy |
A planned summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is prompting speculation over a potential submarine deal between Korea and Canada as Ottawa plans to replace its aging submarines.
Korea Times
Yoon and Trudeau will sit down with each other Wednesday in Seoul to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Trudeau is the first Canadian prime minister to visit Korea in nine years.
During their summit, the leaders are expected to discuss the two countries’ cooperation in national defense, including Canada’s submarine replacement program.
Multiple Canadian news outlets have reported that the Royal Canadian Navy is urging the government to purchase up to 12 new conventionally-powered attack submarines to replace its aging Victoria-class diesel submarines.
Military analysts note that Korea’s KSS-III submarines, Japan’s Taigei-class submarines and Spain’s S-80 Plus class submarines are the perfect fit for the replacement program.
You can read more at the link.
Here is the latest deterrence effort from the U.S. military that the Kim regime could probably care little about:
South Korea and the United States have stepped up deterrence efforts against North Korea’s mounting threats, recently stoked by its launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), with their latest warning coming over the weekend ― the arrival of a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine in Busan.
Korea Times
In addition, the allies conducted a tabletop exercise last week to respond to possible North Korean nuclear attacks. A U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is also expected to participate in the allies’ springtime combined exercise, scheduled to begin in the middle of next month.
According to the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Saturday, the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Springfield arrived in Busan for a scheduled port visit earlier that day.
You can read more at the link.
This would definitely add to Japan’s ability to launch offensive strikes if developed. However, this is something that is going to take many years to develop and build:
Moves are being made to build a submarine to examine the technical issues faced in deploying ones capable of firing long-range missiles, Japanese government sources have said.
The development plan will be included in the National Defense Program Guidelines to be revised by the year-end.
If the development progresses for actual deployment, Tomahawk cruise missiles that the government has approached the U.S. government about purchasing will be an option for the vessel.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
It appears the submarine that North Korea used to fire a missile from this weekend has not been in the best working condition:
The North Korean submarine that fired a ballistic missile from underwater Saturday was the one that had to be towed ashore due to an engine problem following an earlier missile test-firing in October last year, sources said Sunday.
The North is believed to have repaired the Gorae-class vessel since the Oct. 19 test-firing that also took place in waters off the country’s eastern coastal city of Sinpo, where the North’s main submarine shipyard is located.
Due to damage to its engine from the impact of the firing at the time, the 2,000-ton-class submarine could not move on its own and had to be towed by a tugboat to the Sinpo shipyard, according to military and intelligence authorities.
“Though the extent of the damage was not exactly determined, it was not in a condition where it could move on its own. It had to be towed,” a source said on condition of anonymity.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
