N Korea leader inspects newly-built submarine

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a large newly-built submarine, state news agency KCNA reported yesterday, potentially signalling continued development of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) programme.Kim inspected the operational and tactical data and combat weapon systems of the submarine that was built under “his special attention”, and will be operational in the waters off the east coast, KCNA said.KCNA said the submarine’s operational deployment was near.“The operational capacity of a submarine is an important component in national defence of our country bounded on its east and west by sea,” Kim said.KCNA did not describe the submarine’s weapon systems or say where and when the inspection took place.North Korea has a large submarine fleet but only one known experimental submarine capable of carrying a ballistic missile.Analysts said that based on the apparent size of the new submarine it appears designed to eventually carry missiles.“We can clearly see that it is a massive submarine - much larger than the existing one that’s been well known since 2014,” said Ankit Panda, senior fellow at the US-based Federation of American Scientists.“What I find significant about the political messaging here is that this is the first time since a February 2018 military parade that he has inspected a military system clearly designed to carry and deliver nuclear weapons.”“I take that as an ominous signal that we should be taking Kim Jong-un’s end-of-year deadline for the implementation of a change in USpolicy with the utmost seriousness.”A South Korean defence ministry spokesman said they were monitoring developments but could not confirm if the submarine was designed to carry missiles.Kim Dong-yub, a military expert at Kyungnam University’s Institute of Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, said Kim likely also wanted to reassure North Koreans of his commitment to national defence at a time when he is focusing more on the economy.“Announcing his inspection of the new submarine is also to build internal solidarity, to dispel people’s concerns about national security, reassure them, and boost military morale,” he said.Kim has declared a moratorium on testing ICBM’s and nuclear weapons while engaging in denuclearisation talks with the United States and South Korea.The North’s submarine report comes amid another delay in dialogue between the United States and North Korea after Kim and US President Donald Trump agreed at a meeting at the Panmunjom Korean border on June 30 to working-level nuclear talks.