N. Korean leader inspects new submarine

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL (AA) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has indicated his country is “directing big efforts” toward naval defense expansion, as Pyongyang’s state-run KCNA news agency reported Tuesday on Kim’s inspection of a new submarine.

While the news report did not clarify the timing of the leader’s review, it effectively confirmed reports from last month that the North was building a submarine at its eastern Sinpo shipyard, and that the new vessel’s deployment in waters to the east of the Korean Peninsula is “near at hand.”

It remains to be seen whether the submarine has been equipped with ballistic missile capabilities, which would run counter to the current dialogue mood with the United States as well as potentially running afoul of United Nations restrictions on the North’s ballistic missile technology.

Less than a month ago, Kim held a surprise meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the inter-Korean border, where they agreed to hold further working-level denuclearization dialogue and mutually praised the peaceful atmosphere.

But with the North’s Foreign Ministry recently warning a joint U.S.-South Korean military drill planned for next month could affect talks, Kim “stressed the need to steadily and reliably increase the national defense capability by directing big efforts to the development of the naval weapons and equipment," according to the KCNA report.

Moreover, Kim has now made nearly a dozen military appearances since meeting Trump at the end of June.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an American radio interview Monday that he still hopes working-level dialogue can start in “a couple of weeks.”

Meanwhile, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, arrived in South Korea Tuesday for a two-day trip that is expected to touch on efforts to denuclearize the North.

“Wonderful to be back in Seoul so soon and looking forward to productive meetings with the leadership of our important ally and partner so vital to Indo-Pacific security and prosperity,” Bolton said in a Twitter post.