For the first time, North Korea has launched a nuclear-capable, conventionally powered submarine. Kim Jong Un led the christening of the “Hero Kim Kun Ok” submarine, a heavily refashioned Soviet Romeo-class vessel with an extended sail section and other prominent modifications. 

State media reporting on the submarine’s launching note that the Hero Kim Kun Ok will take on the role of a “tactical nuclear attack submarine,” but the primary armaments were not made explicit. Available imagery suggests the submarine has two columns of five vertical missile hatches along its extended sail section. Four of these appear