How Dangerous is North Korea's Navy?

In the event of a war with on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea’s naval forces might prove to be nuisance to allied forces if they are operating close to shore, but the threat is manageable.

Nonetheless, U.S. and South Korean naval shores need to keep on their toes—otherwise, they could find themselves ambushed—and suffer the fate of ROKS Cheonan (PCC-772). The Pohang-class corvette was sunk by a North Korean mini-submarine armed with CHT-02D wake-homing torpedoes on March 26, 2010 in an unprovoked attack.

Pyongyang’s mini-submarines are one of the bigger threats facing U.S. and South Korean sailors operating near North Korea’s shore. The threat can be mitigated however. “[It’s] a risk that could be mitigated by, one, taking them out pre-emptively—if not already at sea—or, two, not coming in close,” analyst Bryan McGrath, managing director of the FerryBridge Group naval consultancy told The National Interest. “They are a manageable threat.”

Read the full article at The National Interest.