County, Responding to North Korea's Sinpo Shipyard Movements: "Prepared for Multiple Possibilities"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The military authorities announced on the 12th that they are preparing for various possibilities in relation to the recent active movements detected at the Sinpo Shipyard in South Hamgyong Province, where North Korea is constructing submarines.

At the Ministry of National Defense regular briefing on the same day, Kim Jun-rak, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, responded to foreign media reports about movements related to SLBM (Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile) launches at the Sinpo Shipyard by saying, “Our military is closely monitoring the relevant developments under tight cooperation between South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies,” and added, “We are maintaining a readiness posture keeping various possibilities in mind.”

When asked if there were any signs of a submarine launching ceremony, Kim repeated the same response.

In this regard, South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies are known to have assessed that North Korea has completed the construction of the estimated 3,000-ton submarine that was unveiled in July 2019. Some speculate that the launching ceremony is imminent.

Earlier, on the 10th (local time), the U.S.-based North Korea specialist media 38 North pointed out through analysis of commercial satellite images that the missile launch tubes were likely removed from the SLBM test barge at the Sinpo Shipyard.

They analyzed that this could be a process of repairing the existing launch tubes or replacing them with new missile launch tubes or launch frames capable of accommodating larger SLBMs.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.