The mystery of North Korea's unmanned torpedo submarine

Appearing in official photos of the annual National Defense Development exhibition in Pyongyang, North Korea, which opened on October 4, 2025, is a ship that has never been reported before.

This photo from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows a model of the ship. Visual clues clearly indicate it is a submarine.

Furthermore, the ship appears to have torpedo tubes and may be unmanned. The photo was taken from only one angle, and the bow of the ship is obscured by two submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).

The submarine appears in the distance in the photo released by KCNA.

However, the upper part of the cylindrical central compartment is still clearly visible, as are the large diving planes. Combined with North Korea's submarine history, this clearly indicates that this is a submarine design.

The main sensor mast also looks like a submarine mast. Behind it appears to be a snorkel, which can be installed with a simple inverted U-bend at the top.

There appeared to be torpedo tubes inside the ship, above the diving planes. The concept of a submersible torpedo boat seemed to be becoming more and more practical. Once on the surface, it could travel at very high speeds, then submerge to await a surface target.

They are unlikely to be equipped with sophisticated sonar or advanced combat systems, relying instead on visual observation. As such, their operational concept is different from that of conventional fast attack craft or submarines. Individually, they are less threatening than submarines, but still have their own flexibility and advantages, mainly lower cost and higher training costs.

Sketch of a submarine launching a torpedo by artist Hi Sutton.

In this day and age, it is also easy to suggest that it may be unmanned. The angle of the shot does not show the stern, so we cannot determine whether there is a crew cabin there like other North Korean submarines.

However, with the submarine's mast clearly visible and no sign of a crew hatch, the unmanned option seems logical. Without a pilot, it would add to the challenges of automating the systems and communicating with them.

However, this would make it more dangerous, as it removes human endurance from the equation. Typically, being unmanned also makes it more likely to be used on high-risk missions.