South Korea Launches Fourth Submarine

South Korea yesterday launched its fourth 1,800-ton, 214-type submarine to boost its underwater warfare capabilities.

The submarine was named after Kim Jwa-jin, the nation's famous general of independent forces during the period of the Japanese colonial rule of South Korea.

"Submarine Kim Jwa-jin will contribute much to upholding our maritime sovereignty," President Park Geun-hye was quoted as saying in a ceremony held at a shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in Geoje Island, southeast of Seoul.

"Under the reality of sharp conflicts between national interests, it should be necessary to protect our waters and our national interests in the waters," Park added.

The submersible can strike 300 targets simultaneously, and operate various missions such as anti-ship, anti-air and anti- submarine warfare as well as ship-to-land precision strikes with cruise missiles.

The diesel-powered submarine can make a round voyage from Seoul to Hawaii without any refueling. It can also perform underwater missions for two weeks without any need to come up from the waters.

The submersible will be delivered to the Navy in the second half of 2014 after the assessment period, and will be deployed in 2015 for naval operations.