North Korea
recently imported 660 kg (1,452 pounds) of silver from China, which is a
lot of silver ($600,000 worth) for poverty stricken North Korea. A
popular interpretation is that the silver is for batteries used on the
larger number of an improved version of its Sang-O (Shark) class
mini-sub. All the new ones appear to be armed with torpedoes (in two
torpedo tubes). North Korean admirals now believe that the Sang-Os could
be a decisive weapon against American and South Korean ships.
This move was apparently the result of the success in using an
older version of Sang-O in 2010 to sink a South Korean corvette. North
Korean naval commanders were impressed with the subsequent discussion by
South Korean and American navy officials about the difficulty in
dealing with such small subs. It appears that North Korea decided to
build a lot more of these small subs.
The 250 ton Sang-O is actually a coastal sub originally
developed for special operations (commando transports). The original
design is a 34 meter (105 feet) long boat with a snorkel and a top
submerged speed of 17 kilometers an hour (or 13 kilometers an hour when
at periscope depth using the snorkel to run the diesel engines). Top
surface speed is 13 kilometers an hour. Max diving depth is 150 meters
(465 feet) and the boat is designed to rest on the ocean bottom (useful
when trying to avoid enemy search). There is a crew of 15, plus space
for either six scuba swimmer commandos, or a dozen men who can go ashore
in an inflatable boat. Sang-Os have two torpedo tubes, which can also
carry mines or just supplies. Some of the early models had no torpedo
tubes, enabling them to carry more people or cargo. Max endurance is
about eight days. The new model is 39 meters (121 feet) long and is
believed to have a max submerged speed of 27 kilometers an hour and
several other improvements. Over 50 Songs have been built so far, and
one was captured by South Korea when it ran aground in 1996. At least a
dozen are of the new model and a dozen or more are apparently under
construction. This is one of the few ship building operations underway
in North Korea.
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