Satellite photos show North Korean 'ballistic missile submarine' being built

Satellite images showing evidence of a North Korean ballistic missile submarine being built reveal the rogue state’s “extraordinary” ambitions in developing a nuclear attack capability, according to a Sydney-based security expert.

The photos published by the expert website 38North were taken earlier this month over the Sinpo shipyard on North Korea's eastern coast.

Kim Jong-Un’s regime is on “an aggressive schedule to build and deploy its first operational missile submarine”, the website claims.

The November 5 satellite images showed two large circular objects that could be used for a pressure hull on a submarine. 

Sydney-based security expert Euan Graham, of the Lowy Institute for International Policy, told Nine.com.au the images reveal the “extraordinary” determination Pyongyang places on building a nuclear arsenal.

“This is more than a one-off experiment. It shows an extraordinary level of ambition and the extravagant use of resources by North Korea,” he said.

Submarine-launched missiles would give the totalitarian state a second-strike capability if its land-based nuclear weapons faced an attack.

However, Dr Graham struck a note of caution.

He said if the nuclear-armed submarine became operational, it would be highly vulnerable to detection from the naval forces of the US, Japan and South Korea.

But that could also bring a nightmare scenario in the event of war or escalating tension.

Dr Graham explained the vessel’s commander facing the prospect of being sunk could decide to launch the ballistic missiles against Western targets: to “use it or lose it”.

The command and control systems of nuclear forces in countries such as China tend to be highly centralised.

But their commanders of nuclear weapons can have a degree of leeway to act unilaterally to give the deterrent its potence.

And it’s unclear what the full authority the commander of a fully operational North Korean ballistic missile submarine would hold.

“That’s the big black hole here,” Dr Graham said.

In its analysis, 38 North, a project by the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, points to movement and parts in the shipyard since early this year.

Gantry and tower cranes have been regularly moved, all suggesting a "prolonged and active ship-building programme", according to the website.

To date, North Korea’s sea-borne missile programme is still in the test stages, reports the BBC. So far it has only used a submersible testing barge.

But the new satellite images show the scale of Kim Jong-Un’s nuclear ambitions and suggest he is unlikely to abandon it any time soon.