South Korea Establishes New Specialized Agency to Advance Nuclear-Powered Submarine Construction Project

South Korea's Ministry of National Defense stated on the 11th that President Lee Jae-myung presided over a State Council meeting that day, deliberating and approving amendments to the "Enforcement Decree on the Organization of the Ministry of National Defense and Its Affiliated Agencies" and the "Enforcement Decree on the Organization of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and Its Affiliated Agencies." Under the amendments, South Korea will establish a new specialized agency to advance the nuclear-powered submarine construction project.

According to the relevant arrangements, a "Nuclear-Powered Submarine Policy Planning Group" will be established under the Ministry of National Defense, responsible for coordinating the formulation of policies and systems required for nuclear-powered submarine construction and facilitating cooperation among relevant agencies.

On the side of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the existing "Korean Submarine Project Group" is planned to be reorganized and expanded into a "Nuclear-Powered Submarine Project Group," with the concurrent establishment of a "Nuclear-Powered Submarine Project Team" and a "Nuclear Power System Project Team." These agencies will be responsible for advancing the entire process of nuclear-powered submarine design and construction, while leading the development of core technologies such as submarine reactors.

It is reported that the South Korean government is currently advancing a plan under the name "Jang Bogo N Project" to build domestically produced nuclear-powered submarines using low-enriched uranium with an enrichment level below 20%. South Korea aims to launch a prototype submarine in the mid-2030s and achieve deployment in the late 2030s. Specific technical parameters have not yet been disclosed, but it is reported that the South Korean military plans to develop three 8,000-ton-class nuclear-powered submarines.

The aforementioned amendments will take effect on the 14th of this month, and the newly established agencies under the Ministry of National Defense and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration will commence their work on the same day.