North Korea tests underwater drone capable of hosting “nuclear weapons”

First modification: 01/19/2024 – 14:20

2 min

North Korea announced on Friday, January 19, that it had tested an “underwater nuclear weapons system” in response to joint naval exercises held by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo, according to the state agency KCNA.

The exercises, held earlier this week, “seriously threatened the security” of North Korea, the North Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement cited by KCNA.

In response, Pyongyang “conducted a major test of its under-development 'Haeil-5-23' submarine nuclear weapons system in the East Sea of ​​Korea,” the ministry added, referring to an area also known as the Sea of ​​Japan.

Earlier this week, South Korea, the United States and Japan held joint naval military exercises south of Jeju Island, claiming to have done so in response to Pyongyang's launch of a ballistic missile on Sunday. Nine ships from the three countries participated in the maneuvers, including the American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.

“New destabilization”

Pyongyang declared on Friday that the exercises had “caused a new destabilization of the regional situation,” calling them a “serious threat to the security” of the North, the ministry spokesman added, according to KCNA.

The test announced on Friday – whose exact date was not specified – will allow “further strengthening the submarine counterattack capacity of our Army with nuclear weapons,” the spokesperson added.

Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile on Sunday, according to Seoul, just days after artillery exercises using live ammunition, amid concerns about North Korea's hardening posture.

In early January, North Korea conducted artillery exercises with live ammunition on its western coast, near South Korean islands whose civilian population was called to take refuge.

“Radioactive tsunami”

Last year, Pyongyang claimed to have carried out several tests of a supposed underwater nuclear attack drone – a different version of the Haeil, which means “tsunami” in Korean – claiming that this weapon could trigger a “radioactive tsunami.”

Friday's announcement of an underwater test “is a clear sign of the deployment of Haeil drones in naval fleets for use”said Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.

“The North's statement illustrates Pyongyang's position that it will respond proportionally to military exercises by the South, Japan and the United States,” he said, adding that it did not appear that the North was trying to “cross the line to provoke an armed conflict.”

Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who heads the World Institute for North Korea Studies, said it was “difficult to determine the exact capabilities” of North Korea's alleged undersea nuclear weapons systems.

“Given the level of North Korea's defense science and the fact that the weapon is still in the development phase, it is not yet capable of posing a significant threat,” he told AFP.

With AFP