N.Korea Steps Up Submarine Drills

(The Chosunilbo) : The South Korean military is on heightened alert as North Korea has stepped up exercises of submarines from naval bases on the east and west coasts since last month.

"The North has been staging drills by mobilizing five or six subs including new Shark-class ones from naval bases on the east and west coasts," a South Korean government source said Wednesday. "The North used to stage sub drills every March in the past, but the scale is a little greater than in previous years, so we're watching their movements closely."

The Shark-class subs constitute the main submarine force of the North Korean Navy, which has about 40 of them. It has apparently deployed both the basic 35 m 325-ton type, the same kind that infiltrated into waters off Gangwon Province in 1996, and the new-type K-300, which is 40 m long. It also reportedly has small infiltration subs without torpedo launch tubes.

The North is testing the adaptability and performance of the subs in preparation for an infiltration rather than making actual moves to invade, the South Korean military speculates. That belief is based on the fact that the subs are rarely long gone from their bases but return after a couple of days. If they tried to infiltrate South Korean waters they would be gone at least three days, it believes.

Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin Wednesday said, "It seems that the North has begun usual drills as the weather is getting warmer to practice infiltrating on the east and west coasts." The sub drills seem to be part of the exercise, he added.