North Korea’s unveiling of a nuclear-powered submarine, dubbed the nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine, reveals a calculated effort to manage messaging both domestically and internationally while obscuring Kim Jong Un’s movements. The key lies in the identical outfits worn by Kim and his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, at two separate events: a local factory inauguration in Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province, on December 19, and the nuclear submarine inspection reported by Rodong Sinmun on Thursday.
Rodong Sinmun reported Kim’s inspection of the nuclear submarine construction site on Thursday, featuring a photo of him and Ju-ae standing among party officials. Notably, the newspaper withheld the date of Kim’s visit, likely to conceal his movements and the facility’s location.
The matching attire worn by father and daughter at both events suggests they likely occurred on the same day, given that the submarine construction facility is believed to be near the Sinpo shipyard.
This isn’t the first instance of North Korea withholding dates for Kim’s site visits. The regime typically omits specific dates when reporting on inspections of nuclear or critical military facilities.
However, reporting events from the same area with a gap of several days is considered unusual.
Analysts speculate that beyond concerns over the security of the Supreme Leader and sensitive facilities, the reporting approach may be intended to maximize messaging impact by separating civilian and military narratives for different audiences.
Kim’s appearance at the Sinpo factory inauguration on September 19 highlighted North Korea’s year-end push to showcase achievements in its Local Development 20×10 Policy, emphasizing economic progress. The regime has recently favored bundled reporting of multiple local factory openings to amplify its developmental narrative.
On September 21, when Kim’s Sinpo factory visit was reported, Rodong Sinmun dedicated six of its eight pages to five local factory inaugurations, featuring over 100 photos to maximize propaganda impact.
The delayed reporting of the nuclear submarine inspection may have been a strategic move to prevent overshadowing civilian achievements, or vice versa. The submarine unveiled on Thursday marked North Korea’s first full reveal of such a strategic asset, clearly intended to send a message to the U.S. and South Korea.
The submarine inspection report coincided with a Defense Ministry statement condemning a U.S. nuclear submarine’s arrival in Busan, a test launch of a potential North Korean THAAD equivalent, and a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin, suspected of supporting North Korea’s submarine program. This timing strongly suggests that Pyongyang deliberately manipulated news releases to maximize international impact.