South Korea announces plan for first nuclear-powered submarine (Jangbogo-N)

South Korea’s defense ministry published its first formal development plan for a domestically built nuclear-powered submarine (Jangbogo-N), specifying low-enriched uranium fuel and long-cycle reactor operation. While not a battlefield deployment yet, it signals a major new naval capability path (endurance, mobility, sustained submerged ops) and an indigenous lifecycle sustainment approach.