North Korea’s Kim slams US-Seoul nuclear submarine deal as ‘offensive act’ 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has hit out at a new nuclear submarine deal between the United States and South Korea, describing it as a threat to the stability of the Korean Peninsula as he toured his country’s submarine production facility, according to North Korean state media.

Kim said the deal between Seoul and Washington was an “offensive act severely violating [Pyongyang’s] security and maritime sovereignty and a threat to security that must be countered”, according to state news outlet KCNA.

It was now urgent to “further accelerate the radical development of the modernisation and nuclear weaponisation of the naval force” of North Korea, Kim said, according to the report.

Kim made the remarks as he toured a facility on Wednesday where Pyongyang is working on an “8,700-tonnage nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine”.

The North Korean leader on Wednesday also oversaw the test firing of a new high-altitude long-range anti-air missile into the Sea of Japan, according to KCNA, which the news outlet referred to as the “East Sea of Korea”.

KCNA reported that the test was successful, and the missile successfully hit a mock target at an altitude of 200 kilometres (124 miles).

The developments came as Seoul said it was pursuing a “standalone deal” with the US to acquire nuclear-powered submarine technology, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

US law bans the transfer of nuclear material for military use, but South Korea could receive an exemption from US President Donald Trump, the East Asian country’s national security adviser, Wi Sung-lac, told the media following a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.

Australia pursued a similar deal with the US to build its own nuclear-powered submarines, Wi said, and talks with Washington are expected to begin early next year.

Separately on Wednesday, Russian leader Vladimir Putin also sent Kim a New Year’s greeting, thanking him for his ongoing military support for the war in Ukraine. North Korea has deployed thousands of soldiers since 2024 to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine, and in parts of Russia that Ukrainian soldiers briefly grabbed in counteroffensive operations.

“The heroic entry of soldiers of the Korean People’s Army into the battles for liberating the Kursk region from occupiers and the subsequent activities of Korean engineers in the land of Russia clearly proved the invincible friendship and militant fraternity” between Russia and North Korea, Putin said, according to a report by KCNA.

Putin also hailed the success of a “comprehensive strategic partnership” treaty signed between Moscow and Pyongyang in 2024, KCNA said, stating that in the future, he hoped to “strengthen the relations of friendship and alliance in every way and conduct constructive cooperation on regional and international issues”.