North Korea's New 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine.

On December 25th of 2025, North Korea's state media agency, the Korean Central News Agency reported that the leader of the country, Kim Jong-un, provided on-the-spot guidance during an inspection of the construction site for their 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic-guided missile submarine. This military project was first announced in 2021 as a five-year plan to modernize the Navy and enhance nuclear deterrence.

And then the photos that were released by the Korean Central News Agency show a largely completed hull inside of a indoor shipyard facility of some kind with a submarine painted in a reddish anti-corrosion coating potentially. Now analysts have said that so far based on the design of the hull that it suggests a nuclear reactor has already been installed that it suggests a nuclear reactor has already been installed

though final steps like fuel loading and testing still remain.