A recent article in Yonhap citing unnamed ROK Ministry of Defense sources as well as articles in 38 North came to the conclusion that North Korea has built a submarine capable of carrying and launching ballistic missiles that may be operational in 1-2 years. This article has received widespread international attention. While we do not take responsibility for what unnamed sources in the Ministry of Defense have told Yonhap and the veracity of their claims, we do take responsibility for analysis that appears on our website.

Figure 1. A close-up view of the newly identified Sinpo 67-meter class submarine, July 24, 2014.

In that context, we would like to make a number of points clear: