South Korea

38 North | English | AcademicThink | Nov. 7, 2025 | North Korea

At North Korea's October 11 military parade, the Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was prominently displayed, highlighting the regime's expanding strategic capabilities. However, an important but less visible component of North Korea's nuclear arsenal is its development of submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), which offer a more survivable nuclear deterrent. Currently, North Korea lacks submarines large enough to carry these SLBMs, as its fleet is primarily composed of older, smaller submarines based on 1950s Romeo-class designs. To address this, Pyongyang is building a much larger, reportedly nuclear-powered submarine, with North Korean media showing the hull to Kim Jong Un in April 2025.

There are credible reports that Russia is supplying North Korea with nuclear propulsion technology for these submarines, potentially including reactor compartments, steam turbines, and cooling systems, likely sourced from decommissioned Russian nuclear submarines. South Korea's Defense Minister confirmed that North Korea is "likely receiving various technologies" from Russia for its submarine program. This technology transfer aligns with broader Russian-North Korean exchanges, including military support in the Ukraine conflict and supply of Russian oil products. Past cooperation includes the mid-1990s supply of obsolete Soviet Golf-class submarines to North Korea, which helped advance Pyongyang's SLBM capabilities.

Russia is dismantling several classes of nuclear submarines near Vladivostok, including Akula-class boats. Satellite imagery from early 2025 shows activity at these shipyards, suggesting possible removal of nuclear propulsion systems for transfer. The Akula-class submarines, such as the Nerpa, use OK-650B pressurized water reactors producing 190 megawatts, capable of powering nuclear submarines with enhanced stealth and endurance. Russia’s assistance could accelerate North Korea’s nuclear submarine program, either by direct installation of reactors or by providing designs and components for domestic development.

The acquisition of nuclear propulsion would significantly improve North Korea’s deterrent by enabling submarine deployments with extended range and reduced detection risk, allowing missiles to threaten distant targets such as the mainland United States from the North Pacific. This emerging capability underlines a growing submarine threat in the region, prompting calls for South Korea and Japan to develop or acquire nuclear-powered submarines to maintain strategic balance. Although operational deployment of North Korean nuclear submarines is still years away, ongoing developments indicate significant progress toward this goal.

Korea Herald | English | News | Nov. 7, 2025 | Climate Change

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that overshooting the 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming target above pre-industrial levels is now inevitable in the short term. He warned that temperatures will exceed 1.5 C in the coming years, leading to devastating but predictable impacts. However, Guterres noted that if global leaders commit seriously to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to 1.5 C by the end of the century remains possible.

Guterres criticized current national carbon reduction pledges, which cover 70 percent of global emissions, as insufficient. These commitments aim to cut emissions by only about 10 percent by 2035, whereas the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has emphasized the need for a 60 percent reduction from 2019 levels by that year to maintain a strong chance of limiting warming to 1.5 C. He stressed the need for countries to submit more ambitious climate plans ahead of the upcoming COP30 summit in Brazil.

Addressing misinformation, Guterres condemned falsehoods and greenwashing, highlighting the importance of scientific truth in combating climate change. In contrast to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s rejection of climate science and critique of renewable energy, Guterres underscored that renewables accounted for almost all new power capacity in 2024 and represent the most effective path to halting climate destruction.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), celebrating its 75th anniversary, is pushing for global coverage of extreme weather early warning systems by 2027. Guterres emphasized that every year in the past decade has been the hottest on record, with rising ocean temperatures damaging ecosystems and no country safe from climate-related disasters such as fires, floods, storms, and heatwaves. He called for countries to increase their climate ambitions significantly to meet the 1.5 C target.

금융위, 가상자산 시세조종 혐의자 수사 고발…“수십억 부당이득”

ET News | Local Language | News | Nov. 7, 2025 | Corporate Corruption or Fraud

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced on November 5th that it will refer suspects involved in virtual asset price manipulation to investigative authorities. The FSC identified two main types of manipulation cases. The first involved a suspect who pre-purchased virtual assets, placed sell orders at a target price in advance, and artificially drove prices up to that target. The second involved multiple suspects coordinating to manipulate prices across multiple assets by using APIs to place high-priced buy orders, creating an illusion of active trading, and dividing roles to push prices higher.

The FSC believes these suspects obtained tens of billions of won in illicit gains through repeated manipulation patterns. They exploited price-change indicators on exchange platforms, which show trade executions in real-time, to falsely suggest high trading activity and boost buying interest. The suspects also used "single-lot trading," repeatedly submitting small buy and sell orders in short periods via APIs to lure buyers. This practice, combined with excessive order submissions, is considered prohibited price manipulation under the Act on the Protection of Users of Virtual Assets.

An FSC official stated that the commission, in cooperation with the Financial Supervisory Service, will continue strict investigations and enforcement actions against unfair trading to protect virtual asset market users and promote a healthy market environment.