North Korea showed its clear progress in developing a nuclear-powered submarine. State media released photos of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and his daughter, a potential heir, inspecting what appears to be a largely completed fuselage.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea’s official state media, said Kim and his daughter visited the shipyard to investigate the construction of what it described as an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine. The Associated Press reported. Pyongyang has indicated it plans to arm the submarine with nuclear weapons, the AP said. Kim has said the submarine’s development is a crucial step toward modernizing and nuclear arming his country’s navy.
The release of the photos on Christmas Day marks the first time North Korean state media has shown an update on the nuclear-powered submarine since March. Earlier images mainly showed the lower parts of the ship, the AP noted. The KCNA did not say when the photos released Thursday were taken.
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In this undated photo provided by the North Korean government on Thursday, December 25, 2025, leader Kim Jong Un inspects a nuclear-powered submarine under construction at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Independent journalists were denied access to report on the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The contents of this image are as supplied and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
Moon Keun-sik, a submarine expert at Hanyang University in Seoul, told the AP that photos of a largely completed hull indicate that many of the core components are already in place, as submarines are typically built from the inside out. However, it was not immediately clear exactly how much progress Pyongyang had made.
“Showing the entire ship seems to indicate that most of the equipment has already been installed and is almost ready to be launched,” Moon, who also served as a submarine officer in the South Korean Navy, told the AP. Moon added that the North Korean submarine could be ready for at-sea testing within months.
In this undated photo provided by the North Korean government on Thursday, December 25, 2025, leader Kim Jong Un, third from left, visits a shipyard while inspecting a nuclear-powered submarine under construction at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Independent journalists were denied access to report on the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The contents of this image are as supplied and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
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At the shipyard, Kim condemned South Korea’s efforts to develop its own nuclear-powered submarine as an “offensive act,” despite President Donald Trump’s support of Seoul’s push for the technology. Kim said South Korea’s efforts violate North Korea’s security and maritime sovereignty, the AP reported.
In October, during his tour of Asia aimed at securing investment, Trump said the US would share technology with South Korea that would allow the country to build a nuclear-powered submarine. The president posted on Truth Social that the ship would be built in Philadelphia.
In this undated photo provided by the North Korean government on Thursday, December 25, 2025, leader Kim Jong Un inspects a nuclear-powered submarine under construction at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Independent journalists were denied access to report on the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The contents of this image are as supplied and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
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“South Korea will build its nuclear submarine in the Philadelphia shipyards, here in the good old USA. Shipbuilding in our country will soon make a BIG COMEBACK,” the president wrote.
The White House underscored this point when it was released a fact sheet in November, which directly referenced Washington and Seoul’s efforts to “advance our maritime and nuclear partnership.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
