Kim Jong Un’s bullying will not work, South Korea is in the mood to respond, is preparing to build a nuclear submarine

Sol. South Korea’s Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek said on Wednesday that the country’s own shipbuilding technology and industrial capacity are so advanced that it can build its own first nuclear-powered submarine. He advised that instead of the US facility, construction should be done in the local shipyards of South Korea.

According to Yonhap News Agency, this statement has come at a time when Seoul is actively moving towards the construction of its first nuclear-powered submarine. Last week, President Lee Jae Myung requested US President Donald Trump during the summit that South Korea be allowed to obtain nuclear fuel for such submarines.

Trump announced a day later that he had approved Seoul’s move to replace “old and less efficient” diesel submarines with modern nuclear-powered submarines. He also said that the construction work will be done at the US shipyard owned by Hanwha Ocean Company.

But Defense Minister Ahn believes that this project should be completed within the country. “In the last nearly 30 years, we have acquired enough technical experience and knowledge in this field. So it is natural that we should complete it in our own shipyard,” he said in the meeting of the Parliamentary Defense Committee.

Yu Yong-Wien, representative of the main opposition party ‘People Power Party’, questioned whether this submarine should be built in the country itself. On this, Ahn said that South Korea is now fully capable in terms of “technology, facilities and human resources”. He also added that there are some structural and technical limitations regarding the capabilities of US-based shipyards. However, he clarified that there has been no formal decision or talks on where the submarine will be built.

When Ahn was asked whether the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) was discussed at the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) between Seoul and Washington, he said that ‘significant progress’ has been made in this direction. According to him, during the talks ‘the leadership capabilities of the South Korean military’ were recognised. This transfer between the two countries will take place under a “condition-based process”, taking into account conditions such as South Korea’s military readiness, air defense capabilities and regional security environment.

The Defense Minister also said that recently a joint document on tariff and defense purchase agreement will be issued between Seoul and Washington. The agreement is expected to envisage the purchase of approximately US$25 billion of arms (US) by South Korea over the next five years.