North Korea said U.S. approval for South Korea’s first nuclear-powered submarine plan added instability in the Asia-Pacific and called it “a dangerous development.” Seoul aims for a mid-2030s launch to counter North Korean submarine-launched nuclear and missile threats.
North Korea’s foreign ministry also called the approval another example of U.S. nuclear proliferation through the AUKUS pact. It described Washington’s “radical nuclear arms buildup” as having led to the collapse of the international nuclear order.
South Korea’s submarine plan was agreed with Washington under a trade deal the two allies struck last year.
