"These submarines will be equipped with a vast array of nuclear delivery vehicles of varying power and will be poised to launch preemptive and retaliatory strikes at any time underwater," Kim said, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency Friday.

The North Korean leader, who attended the launch ceremony on Wednesday, said arming his navy with nuclear arsenal was an urgent task, and has pledged to equip more submarines with tactical nuclear weapons. He said that it was “exhilarating to imagine the elite nuclear underwater fleet that will pose a challenge to the enemy’s invasion fleet."

Pyongyang has increased its nuclear provocations in recent weeks while allying more closely with Russia and China, as the U.S., South Korea and Japan strengthened trilateral security cooperation in the region.

The unveiling of the submarine came on the eve of North Korea’s 75th founding anniversary, and is seen as a display of its escalating nuclear capability. North Korea has usually unveiled new weapons at the event that could pose a nuclear threat to the U.S. and its regional allies.

Named after a prominent North Korean historical figure, Submarine No. 841, or Hero Kim Kun Ok, was assigned to undertake its duties off the North’s eastern coast, KCNA said. The state media boasted that the submarine’s launch was ushering in a fresh era in enhancing naval prowess.

While the exact details of the new submarine is unknown, a South Korean military authority said that it is believed to be a modified 3,000t Romeo-class. North Korea’s version of the Romeo-class submarines, capable of carrying its submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) Pukkŭksŏng-1, is the diesel-electric Sinpo. The submarine has a range of 2,800 kilometers (1,740 miles). It is therefore widely seen as yet to acquire the ability to launch blue-sea operations. Even  when factoring the Pukkŭksŏng-1’s operational range, it could be widely seen to fall short of posing a direct threat to the U.S. mainland, which is around 10,000 km from North Korea’s eastern coast.

Still, submarine-launched ballistic missiles present a challenge to the U.S. and its allies’ defense system due to their inherent stealth and unpredictability. Operating underwater complicates the existing radar detection system and makes it difficult to track North Korea’s military movements, disabling a preemptive strike.

 “The ROK military has been using joint surveillance assets to track North Korea’s submarine activities in advance in coordination with the U.S.,” South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff said in a statement Friday. 

“Based on our analysis of the North Korean submarine's appearance to date, we believe that it appears to have increased the size and shape of some parts, such as the bridge, to accommodate missiles, but it does not appear to be operational,” the statement added, raising the possibility that North Korea may have exaggerated its capability. 

“The modified submarines put South Korea and Japan under its range, and in theory, Guam as well,” said Cha Du-hyeogn, South Korea’s former presidential secretary for crisis information who is now a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. 

“However, questions remain regarding its actual capabilities. It is still unconfirmed whether the submarine can withstand a missile strike, move silently underwater, or effectively launch an SLBM from beneath the surface.”

According to the KCNA report, Kim Jong Un has also revealed his intention to further enhance North Korea’s technological capability and expedite the creation of nuclear-powered submarines, which would enable blue-sea operations.

Kim’s ambition may inversely show North Korea’s lack the capability to construct a nuclear-submarine, Cha pointed out. 

“While North Korea is interested in acquiring it, building one in the short term presents significant technical challenges. Military collaboration with Russia may occur in part to address this gap. But it would be difficult to imagine Moscow supplying  Pyongyang with nuclear submarines or transferring relevant technologies. Even with the transferred technology, constructing a nuclear submarine within a short time frame remains a challenge to North Korea.”

Edited by Elaine Chan and Mike Firn.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Lee Jeong-Ho for RFA.

Fifteen artists have been selected as the inaugural beneficiaries of NZ On Air’s New Music Pan-Asian funding.

The initiative, the first of its kind, aims to support the Asian music community in New Zealand.

The fund was established due to a lack of equitable representation of Asian musicians in the country’s music sector, says Teresa Patterson, head of music at NZ On Air.

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“Our Music Diversity Report clearly showed the under-representation of Pan-Asian New Zealand musicians in the Aotearoa music sector,” she said.

“This is reflected in the number of funding applications we received for this focus round.”

The funding provides musicians with up to $10,000 for recording, mixing and mastering a single, some of which can be set aside for the promotion and creation of visual content to accompany the song’s release.

“We received 107 applications for 15 grants, which is outstanding,” Patterson said.

‘Wonderful range’
“The range of genre, gender and ethnicity among the applicants was wonderful. We received applications from artists who identify as Chinese, Indian, Filipino, South Korean, Japanese, Indonesian, Sri Lankan, Malaysian, Thai and Iraqi.

“The genres varied from alternative/indie and pop to hip-hop/RnB, dance/electro and folk/country.”

Six of the 15 songs that secured funding are bilingual, featuring Asian languages such as Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, Malay and Punjabi.

Patterson believed this variety would “really help to reflect the many voices of Aotearoa New Zealand” and add to the vibrant cultural music mix experienced by local audiences.

Swap Gomez, a drummer, visual director and academic lecturer, was one of the panel members responsible for selecting the musicians for the funding. He emphasised the challenges faced by Asian musicians in New Zealand.

“What was awesome to see was so many Pan-Asian artists applying; artists we had never heard of coming out of the woodwork now that a space has been created to celebrate their work,” Gomez said.

“This is the time we can celebrate those Pan-Asian artists who have previously felt overlooked by the wider industry.

“Now there is an environment and sector where they can feel appreciated for their success in music. As a multicultural industry, developing initiatives such as this one is more crucial than ever.”

NZ On Air has announced that funding opportunities for Asian musicians will continue in the next financial year.

“The response we have had to this inaugural NZ On Air New Music Pan-Asian focus funding round has been phenomenal,” Patterson said.

“It tells us that there is a real need, so NZ On Air is excited to confirm that it will return in the new financial year.”

The full NZ On Air’s Pan-Asian New Music recipient list:

• Amol; cool asf
• Charlotte Avery; just before you go
• Crystal Chen; love letter
• hanbee; deeper
• Hans.; Porcelain
• Hugo Chan; bite
• Julius Black; After You
• LA FELIX; Waiting
• Lauren Gin; Don’t Stop
• Memory Foam; Moon Power
• Phoebe Rings; 아스라이
• RESHMA; Kuih Lapis (Layer Cake)
• tei.; sabre
• Terrible Sons; Thank You, Thank You
• Valere; Lily’s March

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

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This content originally appeared on KPFA - The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays and was authored by KPFA.