South Korea Gets New-Age Submarine To Counter North

Staff, The Australian
11 July 2017

South Korea has received its most advanced submarine to counter North Korea’s underwater combat capabilities as the US said it would crank up pressure on China to ensure that it implemented sanctions against the North over its missile tests. The delivery of the 1800-tonne Yu Gwan-sun submarine at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering shipyard on Geoje Island near Busan in southeastern part of the country was marked with a ceremony by the South Korean navy. The submarine, which the South Korean navy plans to deploy in December, is named after well-known independence leader Yu Gwan-sun, and is the sixth and most sophisticated in the Jang Bogo-II class that was launched in 2008. The North is believed to have a fleet of at least 80 submarines. US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said while the US wanted to avoid conflict, it was determined to halt North’s nuclear drive. “The fact that they launched an ICBM test is hugely dangerous not just for us, but for so many of our friends in the world, and we’ve got to put a stop to it,” Ms Haley told CBS.
Ms Haley told the UN Security Council last week that the US planned a new resolution that would ramp up sanctions on North Korea but also ensure that existing measures were enforced. China is North Korea’s main ally and the US has become increasingly frustrated at what it sees as Beijing’s failure to ensure the existing sanctions against the regime of Kim Jong-un are fully implemented. “It will be very telling based on how other countries respond — whether they want to hold Kim Jong-un’s hand through this process or whether they want to be on the side of so many countries who know that this is a dangerous person with the access to an ICBM,” said Ms Haley. “So we’re going to fight hard on this. We’re going to push hard not just on North Korea, we’re going to push hard on other countries who are not abiding by the resolutions and not abiding by the sanctions against North Korea. “And we’re going to push hard against China because 90 per cent of the trade that happens with North Korea is from China, and so while they have been helpful, they need to do more.”