News Report: S Korea Starts Construction of New Submarine Equipped With Ballistic Missiles

Chang Bogo class Submarine (Image: Wiki Commons)

South Korea started on Wednesday construction of a new 3,000-tonne submarine that could be equipped with ballistic missiles, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — South Korea is expected to build the Chang Bogo-III batch 1 submarine, which would be the third vessel of this class in the national navy, as part of its plan to increase maritime capacities in the context of threats posed by the North, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the country's arms procurement body.

Hyundai Heavy Industries company was expected to build the 3,000-tonne vessel, which would be able to carry Hyunmoo-2 ballistic missiles with ranges of more than 500 kilometers (310 miles), the media added. 

According to the news outlet, the construction of the vessel would cost 630 billion won ($539 million) and is expected to last for 85 months. 

The Korean Peninsula formally remains in a state of war since the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice, but not a final peaceful settlement.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.