South Korea will seek to launch its first nuclear-powered submarine by the mid-2030s, under a new programme aimed at countering North Korea's submarine-launched nuclear and missile threats, officials said on Tuesday.
Seoul has long sought to join an elite group of nations operating nuclear-powered submarines in a move that could reshape Asia's security landscape and escalate an underwater arms race.
"The nuclear-powered submarine, which will be built on the basis of a strong South Korea-US alliance, is a symbol of our will to take responsibility for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula," President Lee Jae Myung told a committee examining the country's future defence strategy.
The submarine will use low-enriched uranium fuel and be developed and built in South Korea, Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said, laying out South Korea's basic plan for securing nuclear-powered submarines.
Ahn said the programme would draw on South Korea's nuclear, shipbuilding and defence industries, while maintaining Seoul's commitment not to acquire or develop nuclear weapons.
Shares in South Korean shipbuilders Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy closed up 10.2 per cent and 9.6 per cent, respectively, buoyed by President Lee highlighting the importance of the project in a cabinet meeting.
South Korea will work closely with the United States during the process of securing low-enriched uranium fuel to ensure non-proliferation and will also work with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ahn said.
The plan aimed for the first vessel to be launched in the mid-2030s, Ahn said.
Nuclear propulsion would give the new submarines the ability to stay underwater far longer and ensure greater mobility than existing South Korean submarines, the government has said.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee Editing by Ed Davies)