Longterm SK Interest in Barracudas and K15s

In response to French Anonymous’ January 2, 2024 comments: 

Thank you for your K15 and K22 explanation - although I don't know enough about the inner workings a naval reactors eg. "fluxes".

A partly useful technical description is at https://media.nti.org/pdfs/Replacing_HEU_in_Naval_Reactors_Report_FINAL.pdf which includes many references to France and LEU naval reactors.

I have been looking back to Submarine Matters’ articles on long term South Korean (SK) interest in France's Barracuda SSN and the K15. The K15 is attractive as its LEU levels should reduce US opposition to SK acquiring them or building indigenous SK LEU submarine reactors. Submarine Matters’ articles include:

- https://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2019/10/south-korea-looking-at-frances.html  

and

- https://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2021/12/s-korean-built-nuke-sub-reactor-likely.html

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Also of particular interest is the US Government's Radio Free Asia (RFA's) South Korean language article. When translated to English it states:

TITLE: "South Korean Navy “Efforts to secure nuclear submarines...useful in responding to North Korean SLBMs”
of October 10, 2019
at https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/nk_nuclear_talks/ne-hw-10102019083107.html

TEXT: "Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Shim Seung-seop is answering questions from lawmakers during the National Assembly National Defense Committee's audit of the Navy Headquarters held at Gyeryong University in South Chungcheong Province [South Korea or simply "Korea"] on [October 10, 2019].

Anchor: The South Korean [SK] Navy announced that it is working to secure nuclear-powered submarines as part of measures to strengthen its naval power, including in response to North Korea's SLBMs, or submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

Reporter Hong Seung-wook reports from Seoul.

On the 10th, the National Defense Committee audit of the National Assembly was held at Gyeryongdae in South Chungcheong Province, an integrated base for the three forces of the ROK Army, Navy, and Air Force.

The [SK] Navy announced in its work report today that it is working to secure nuclear-powered submarines to strengthen its naval power and is operating a task force in this regard, a temporary organization formed to resolve the task.

The [SK] Navy said, “We are operating our own task force from a long-term perspective,” and explained that securing nuclear-powered submarines is a matter to be decided based on national policy, and that we will pursue collaboration with the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the future.

This can be interpreted as emphasizing the need to secure nuclear-powered submarines from a long-term perspective.

[SK] Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Shim Seung-seop said at the event,
“As nuclear-powered submarines are capable of long-term underwater operations, we believe they will be most useful in continuously tracking and destroying North Korea’s SLBMs, or submarines equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles.”

He also emphasized that nuclear-powered submarines are a useful deterrent force that can respond to neighbouring countries, including North Korea.

Previously, North Korea test-launched a new SLBM, the Pukguksong-3, into the East Sea on [October 2, 2019] three days before the US-North Korea denuclearization working-level talks.

South Korean Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo (last 2nd): I believe this is an intention to increase negotiating power as much as possible (ahead of working-level negotiations on denuclearization between the United States and North Korea). In addition, on the 1st, South Korea's Armed Forces Day, it showed off its latest military capabilities, but since North Korea has been criticizing or making statements about its military reinforcements, we are considering whether North Korea launched a missile in the early morning of the 2nd while taking these factors into consideration.

Rep. Choi Jae-seong of the Democratic Party of Korea, Korea's ruling party, also raised the need to introduce nuclear-powered submarines through a questionnaire for the National Assembly audit at the Navy Headquarters.

Representative Choi said that according to the results of the Korean Navy's research service, nuclear-powered submarines have significantly better operational performance than diesel submarines currently in operation and were evaluated as the most useful force for operation on the Korean Peninsula.

At the same time, he explained that there are no restrictions under the NPT, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the IAEA, and the International Atomic Energy Agency's safeguards agreements.

Baek Seung-ju, a lawmaker from the Liberty Korea Party, South Korea's main opposition party, presented the contents of a naval research report on the need to consider introducing France's 5,300-ton 'Barracuda' nuclear submarine along with developing its own nuclear submarine in preparation for North Korea's SLBM provocation. It was also made public.

The report titled ‘Usefulness and possibility of building nuclear-powered submarines on the Korean Peninsula,’ written by ‘Independent Defense Network’, a South Korean security citizen group, at the request of the Navy, said, “It is an effective way to carry out a surprise strike against North Korea in case of emergency and to suppress North Korea’s submarine activities.” “There is a need to develop nuclear-powered submarines that can detect and attack missiles before they are launched.”

[the article then moves to SK surface ships – mainly destroyers]