July 11, 2017 10:33
The Navy has taken delivery of a new 1,800-ton homegrown submarine, the Yu Gwan-sun, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Monday.
It is the first Navy ship named for a woman. Yu was an independence fighter in the early 20th century.
It is touted as one of the world's quietest conventional submarines and armed with submarine-to-ground cruise missiles with a range of more than 500 km.
The missiles, with a range error of a mere 3 m, are capable of striking major facilities in Pyongyang from waters hundreds of kilometers away from the coast.
The handover ceremony was held at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering's shipyard on Geoje Island.
The Yu Gwan-sun will be deployed warfare-ready in December after five months of crew training.
"It is capable of handling about 300 underwater targets at the same time. Equipped with a fuel battery system, it can carry out underwater operations for more than 10 days without surfacing," Choi Hee-kyung of DAPA said.
The Navy also has five other homegrown subs in operation.
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