Yo-Ho-Ho, and a Bottle of Rum. Ahoy May-tees.

[seaman hornsby]

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/why-u-navy-spy-submarine-203104402.html

[ccontrol]

Note the weathering and rust visible on the closeup of the bridge. Cool.

[tom dougherty]

The article failed to mention the most obvious North Korean based mission- recovering parts of the recent missile tests from the ocean. Recovering any RV dummy warheads would yield clues on missile throw weight and other design features. It would also be very useful to recover any guidance packages to derive clues on the missile CEP accuracy. If they were going to attempt infiltration, I kinda doubt the Navy would send a one of a kind, heavily modified sub to land commandos or spies in North Korea. More likely a job for either a Virginia or Ohio SSGN.

[seaman hornsby]

https://nationalpostcom.wordpress.com/news/world/why-did-one-of-the-u-s-navys-most-advanced-subs-return-to-port-with-a-pirate-flag?preview=true

[tom dougherty]

Clearly the last article is not much different than the above. As for tapping North Korean cable traffic, the little cable traffic they would generate would run through China. Very unlikely there is any other undersea outlet for cable traffic from North Korea.