(Jihoon Yu – ASPI The Strategist) North Korea’s naval modernisation is still in its early stages. Much of its surface and submarine fleet remains outdated, while its more ambitious shipbuilding and undersea programs face serious technical and operational obstacles. However, it would be a mistake to dismiss this buildup as political theatre or an unrealistic attempt to imitate larger regional navies. North Korea does not need a blue-water fleet capable of defeating the United States, South Korea or Japan. It needs a naval force dangerous enough to complicate allied planning, disperse scarce assets and expand the ways it can threaten nuclear escalation. North Korea is gradually constructing a layered maritime force rather than a conventional fleet. Missile-armed destroyers, ballistic-missile submarines, coastal anti-ship missiles, mines and unmanned systems could operate as interconnected parts of a wider coercive strategy.
North Korea’s naval buildup will stretch allied forces across the Indo-Pacific | The Strategist
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