Sailors board the ROKS Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, a 3,000-ton South Korean naval submarine, at a naval port in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, 25 March 2026. The submarine is departing across the Pacific for the first time to take part in joint drills with Canada in June aimed at bolstering maritime security and defense industry cooperation. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
May 24 (Asia Today) -- South Korea is preparing to publicly unveil a development roadmap for a nuclear-powered attack submarine program after the successful Pacific deployment of the domestically built Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine, according to military and defense officials.
The move signals Seoul's effort to strengthen what officials describe as the strongest conventional strategic deterrence available to a non-nuclear weapons state in response to North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile capabilities and growing maritime competition in the region.
Senior military officials said the Ministry of National Defense and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration have completed technical reviews for a South Korean nuclear-powered submarine program and are now coordinating with related ministries, including the Foreign Ministry, on a diplomatic and regulatory strategy.
