South Korean Navy Opens Its First Submarine Command

Just another example of the growing military capabilities of the ROK Navy:

The South Korean Navy on Sunday inaugurated a submarine command as part of efforts to bolster its underwater capabilities and combat readiness against North Korea.

The fleet of the command, based in the southern port city of Jinhae and led by a rear admiral, is composed of 13 submarines under the Ninth Submarine Flotilla, the Navy said in a statement.

The Navy operates nine 1,200-ton submarines and four 1,800-ton subs, while planning to add five more 1,800-ton submarines to be built by 2019. In addition, it plans to deploy nine 3,000-ton submarines capable of launching ballistic missiles, starting in 2020.

The launch made South Korea, which commissioned its first submarine from Germany in 1992, the sixth nation in the world with a submarine command after the United States, Japan, France, Britain and India.  [Yonhap]

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