国际英语资讯:S. Korea to mull development of nuke-powered submarine against DPRK threats_时事

国际英语资讯:S. Korea to mull development of nuke-powered submarine against DPRK threats

Even if South Korea successfully secures its nuclear-powered submarine, uncertainties would remain about its military effectiveness.

The South Korean submarine will be required to wait inside waters 10-20 km away from the DPRK's submarine base in order to strike its enemy submarine before it submerges into deep waters. Such submarine, which stays in waters of that distance, would be attacked easily by DPRK forces.

Time and costs would be needed to build a nuclear submarine. Military experts estimated it would take around 6-7 years to develop and deploy a submarine propelled by nuclear power, while about 1.5 trillion won (1.3 billion U.S. dollars) would be required to construct a nuclear submarine.

The most fundamental difficulty facing South Korea is to secure nuclear material necessary for a nuclear reactor that propels the nuclear submarine.

The U.S.-South Korea civil nuclear pact bans Seoul from enriching uranium for military purpose. The miniaturized reactor inside a submarine requires uranium enriched at least 20 percent.

Seoul's defense ministry official was quoted as saying that the use of nuclear material for nuclear-powered submarine will not be in violation of pacts with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), indicating Seoul's nuclear pact with Washington would be a sole obstacle.

Seoul's push for developing a nuclear submarine may trigger Japan's demand for its nuclear armament, brining nuclear arms race to the region. Japan has been reprocessing spent nuclear fuels and accumulating massive nuclear materials necessary for nuclear development.