The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Korea has announced it will add advanced submarines that could carry more ballistic missiles over the next five years in order to increase its defence capabilities.

“We are considering building 3,600 and 4,000 tons of submarines, which will be much more advanced than the submarines currently in operation,” the ministry official said, referring to the 3,000-ton Dosan Ahn Changho-class submarines built locally.

 The capacity of the new submarines will also be increased compared to the Dosan class, and new submarines can operate with nuclear energy instead of diesel, the official said.