President Lee Jae-myung on the 26th received a briefing on the "Jang Bogo N project," the Ministry of National Defense's basic plan to develop a nuclear-powered submarine (nuclear-powered submarine; hereinafter nuke sub). Although the leaders of South Korea and the United States last year agreed on security issues including building a nuke sub and promised to launch a working-level consultative body, discussions have not progressed yet due to differences between the two countries surrounding incidents such as the Coupang data leak. However, because this is the first announcement of a government-level plan, some in politics say it could work to the advantage of centrist and conservative voters ahead of the June 3 local elections.
At the first meeting of the Future Defense Strategy Committee held that afternoon at the Navy Submarine Command in Jinhae-gu, Changwon, South Gyeongsang, President Lee listened to Minister Ahn Gyu-baek's presentation on the nuke sub development plan and said, "The nuclear-powered submarine to be built on the foundation of the firm South Korea–U.S. alliance is a symbol of our determination to take responsibility for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula ourselves, and it will also make a major contribution to strengthening South Korea's defense industry capabilities."
Minister Ahn explained that the "Jang Bogo N project" aims to launch the first vessel in the mid-2030s and will play a key role in responding to North Korea's submarine-based nuclear and missile threats. According to the Ministry of National Defense, the nuke sub the government is pursuing will be armed with conventional weapons and is unrelated to a strategic nuclear submarine that carries nuclear weapons. The reactor fuel will also use low-enriched uranium at "around 20%," not highly enriched uranium that can be used to make nuclear weapons.
The government plans to continue communicating with the international community to emphasize this. Strategy Committee Vice Chair Lee Geun-uk also said, "Korea's nuclear sub carries only conventional weapons and uses only low-enriched uranium, so it complies with international norms such as the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty)," but noted, "In consultations with the United States and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), it is necessary to repeatedly underscore Korea's nonproliferation commitment and make it more concrete through concluding agreements."
The Ministry of National Defense said it will develop the program to enable operations in a manner that minimizes nuclear fuel replacement (long cycle); develop and build domestically to secure self-reliance in power acquisition, sustainment and maintenance; actively leverage technology from the civilian nuclear power and shipbuilding sectors; manage the entire process of design, construction, operation, maintenance, nuclear fuel management and decommissioning from a total life-cycle perspective; and aim to field the capability in the late 2030s.
Meanwhile, regarding the transfer of wartime operational control, President Lee said, "As a core element of self-reliant defense, it will serve as an opportunity to make South Korea's status as the principal agent of defense on the Korean Peninsula even clearer," adding, "Through close consultations between South Korea and the United States, we will complete a concrete roadmap for regaining OPCON, including the timing of the transition." He also said, "The era is evolving into a future battlefield where artificial intelligence and big data assess situations and drones and robots fight," and, "In such future warfare, we must leap forward as a smart, strong military that can always overwhelm the adversary."