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Athens · Friday, 6 November 2026

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A Dosan Ahn Changho-class (KSS-III Batch I) submarine of the South Korean Navy

Asia-Pacific

South Korea approves the Jang Bogo-N programme for its first nuclear-powered submarine

South Korea’s Defense Project Promotion Committee approved the basic acquisition strategy for the Jang Bogo-N programme, the country’s first nuclear-powered submarine, which is due to start in 2027.

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A Dosan Ahn Changho-class (KSS-III Batch I) submarine of the South Korean Navy. Photo: Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea (KOGL Type 1, via Wikimedia Commons).

South Korea has officially given the green light for its first nuclear-powered submarine. The Defense Project Promotion Committee approved on Friday, November 6 the basic acquisition strategy for the programme, called Jang Bogo-N, as announced by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). With the decision, the basic plan the government presented in May becomes a regular armament programme, with the aim of starting within 2027.

The name refers to Jang Bogo, the first submarine of the South Korean Navy. The letter N means, according to DAPA, new generation, nuclear propulsion and new technology. The programme gains time because the Ministry of Planning and Budget exempted it in August from the feasibility study, which usually takes one to two years. The exemption for national-security projects requiring a high degree of secrecy was used. In its place a separate in-depth assessment will be carried out.

Competition between shipyards

A competition among Korean shipyards will be held for the design and construction of the boat, where Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries are expected to bid. Both have built submarines for the Navy, the most recent being the 3,600-tonne Seo Hui. DAPA plans to draw up the basic development plan in the first half of 2027 and to sign a contract before the year is out. The small reactor and the main weapons will be secured by the government itself and delivered to the shipyard.

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A DAPA official recalled that the Dosan Ahn Changho (KSS-III), of 3,000 tonnes, the first Korean-designed submarine, took about four years of design and five of construction, and that the nuclear-powered one will take somewhat longer. The overall cost has not been announced. In May the Minister of Planning and Budget, Park Hong-keun, had put it at about 28.9 trillion won (21.3 billion dollars).

The fuel question

The most sensitive issue remains open. For reactor fuel Seoul needs the United States. In the joint text after the summit between Lee Jae-myung and Donald Trump in October 2025, Washington committed to cooperate on the programme, “including ways of securing fuel”. Vice-ministerial talks began in Seoul in June, but the second round that had been scheduled for July in Washington has not taken place.

Hanwha Jang Bogo-N Nuclear submarines South Korea Submarines United States

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