North Korea has reportedly launched its first operational “tactical nuclear attack submarine,” capable of carrying out an underwater nuclear attack. 

The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, said on Friday that the launching ceremony for Submarine Number 841, named "Hero Kim Kun-ok" after a historical North Korean figure, was held on Wednesday. 

The paper said that the ceremony marked the beginning of a new chapter in bolstering the country’s naval force. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who attended the ceremony with top officials, reportedly said that the nuclear attack submarine, considered a symbol of invasion against North Korea for decades, now symbolizes the country’s power, instilling fear in its enemies. He added that the submarine was a style newly developed by the regime and unseen anywhere else in the world. 

Kim also stressed the importance of nuclear armament, and that arming the navy with nuclear weapons was an urgent task that cannot be delayed. He called for the acceleration of a project to deploy underwater and surface vessels equipped with tactical nuclear weapons to the regime's naval forces.

[Photo : YONHAP News]