Also sometimes called the Sinpo-class, after the North Korean shipyard where the class was built, the Gorae-class is the Hermit Kingdom‘s first indigenously built ballistic missile submarine. The Gorae-class is currently considered by some naval experts as a test and research platform rather than a fully-fledged class.

A crew of about 70 or 80 sailors likely man the submarine’s stations. The class uses diesel-electric propulsion, and in addition to its solitary ballistic missile, it probably sports either two or four torpedo missile tubes for defense against other submarines or surface ships. Though North Korea no doubt would like to eventually christen more of the submarines, the class is likely represented by just one or two hulls.

Similar to the scrap Golf and Hotel-class hulls North Korea received in the 1990s, the Gorae-class launches its single missile from the submarine’s sail. After launch, the missile silo space would likely be flooded with seawater ballast to maintain the submarine’s sailing characteristics after ejecting the missile.

Pukguksong-3 Ballistic Missile

The little class of submarine carries just a single launch tube. Likewise, not terribly much is known about the missile it launches. The missile in question is thought by some to be the Pukguksong-3 ballistic missile. Using solid fuel propellant, the Pukguksong-3 has an estimated 1,900 kilometer, or about 1,200 mile range and was likely first tested sometime in 2019.

Though modest, the range is more than sufficient to put the entire Korean Peninsula and Japan in the Pukguksong-3’s crosshairs. More remote American installations like Guam are beyond the reach of the Pukguksong-3, though the island could be threatened if the Gorae-class positioned itself a few day’s journey west. The American West Coast is considered safe from both the Gorae-class submarine and the Pukguksong-3 missile. However, though difficult, Hawaii could possibly be threatened after a long journey and a lot of luck on the part of North Korean sailors. 

Postscript

Nuclear ballistic missile submarines are one of the world’s most exclusive clubs to be a part of. The few countries in the club—the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, and India—have nuclear capabilities that are orders of magnitude greater than that of North Korea.

That being said, the ability to launch nuclear warheads from sea in addition to positions on land would do much to preserve North Korea’s nuclear deterrence in case of a regional conflict with the United States or South Korea, despite the North’s significantly less-capable missile threat. Enemies beware.

Caleb Larson holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy. He lives in Berlin and writes on U.S. and Russian foreign and defense policy, German politics and culture.

Image: Reuters