13 March 2016•Update: 18 March 2016
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
South Korea has said it is on the lookout for a suspected missing North Korean midget submarine, confirming earlier international reports that suggested a vessel from the North was unaccounted for.
“It is believed the sub went missing while it was on a mission of some sort,” an official was quoted as saying by local news agency Yonhap.
“Because these subs are very old, they are susceptible to mechanical breakdowns and due to North Korea’s economic situation, it is not likely that they have been well maintained.”
The submarine is suspected to be a similar model as that which became tangled in a fishing net in South Korean waters in 1998.
All nine North Korean crew members aboard were found dead, but evidence discovered after a retrieval mission pointed to the successful completion of espionage efforts.
In 2010, a North Korean submarine mission was implicated in the sinking of the South Korean Cheonan warship, which resulted in nearly 50 deaths on the South’s side.
North Korea reportedly has around 70 submarines at its disposal.
Tensions have been heightened on the peninsula following the North’s recent fourth ever nuclear test and rocket launch, both of which led to bolstered United Nations sanctions against the reclusive state.
North Korea has also been angered by ongoing massive joint military drills involving South Korea and the United States, described as the largest of their kind to date.
