North Korea displays apparent progress in construction of nuclear-powered submarine

North Korea on Thursday displayed apparent progress in the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine, with state media photos showing a largely completed hull, as leader Kim Jong Un condemned rival South Korea's push to acquire the technology.

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In this undated photo provided Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un inspects a nuclear-powered submarine under construction at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

(Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim visited a shipyard to inspect the construction of what the North describes as an 8,700-ton-class nuclear-propelled submarine, which the leader has called a crucial step in the modernization and nuclear armament of North Korea's navy. The North has indicated it plans to arm the submarine with nuclear weapons, calling it a "strategic guided missile submarine" or a "strategic nuclear attack submarine."