North Korea says it tested new nuclear underwater attack drone

Analysts say North Korea is showing off its increasingly diverse nuclear threats to Washington and Seoul, though they are skeptical whether the underwater vehicle is ready for deployment.

A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. (photo credit: REUTERS/KIM HONG-JI/POOL/FILE PHOTO)
A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022.
(photo credit: REUTERS/KIM HONG-JI/POOL/FILE PHOTO)

North Korea has tested a new nuclear-capable underwater attack drone, state media reported on Friday, as leader Kim Jong Un warned joint military drills by South Korea and the US should stop.

During the test, the new North Korean drone cruised underwater at a depth of 80 to 150 meters (260-500 feet) for over 59 hours and detonated a non-nuclear payload in waters off its east coast on Thursday, North Korean state news agency KCNA said.

Analysts say North Korea is showing off its increasingly diverse nuclear threats to Washington and Seoul, though they are skeptical whether the underwater vehicle is ready for deployment.

North Korea intends to signal "to the United States and South Korea that in a war, the potential vectors of nuclear weapons delivery that the allies would have to worry about and target would be vast," said Ankit Panda, senior fellow at the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"There would be silos, railcars, submarines and road mobile missile launchers. And now they're adding this underwater torpedo to the mix," he said.

"There would be silos, railcars, submarines and road mobile missile launchers. And now they're adding this underwater torpedo to the mix."

Ankit Panda
 A general view of fire assault drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea March 10, 2023 in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).  (credit: KCNA VIA REUTERS)
A general view of fire assault drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea March 10, 2023 in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). (credit: KCNA VIA REUTERS)

On Monday, the isolated country flew a short-range missile from a buried silo, a departure from usual basing methods.

Dubbed "Haeil," or tsunami, the new drone system is intended to make sneak attacks in enemy waters and destroy naval strike groups and major operational ports by creating a large radioactive wave through an underwater explosion, the KCNA said.

"This nuclear underwater attack drone can be deployed at any coast and port or towed by a surface ship for operation," the news agency said, adding that Kim oversaw the test.

A South Korean military official said they were analyzing North Korea's claims. A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there was no indication of a nuclear test.

It is unclear whether North Korea has fully developed miniaturized nuclear warheads needed to fit on its smaller weapons.


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Analysts say perfecting such warheads would most likely be a key goal if the North resumes nuclear testing.

 

HUGE TORPEDOES

A photo released by state media showed Kim smiling next to a large torpedo-shaped object, but did not identify it as the new drone. Other photos showed tracks of the object's underwater trajectory, and blasts visible on the sea surface.

Panda said the weapon's operational concept was similar to Russia's Poseidon nuclear torpedoes, a new category of retaliatory weapon meant to create destructive, radioactive blasts in coastal areas.

On Friday South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he would make sure North Korea paid for its "reckless provocations," during a speech to commemorate service members who died in clashes with North Korea in western waters, including a 2010 sinking of a navy ship that South Korea said was struck by a North Korean torpedo.

North Korea fired cruise missiles in tactical nuclear strike drill

North Korea also said it had fired cruise missiles on Wednesday to practice carrying out tactical nuclear attacks, confirming earlier reports from the South Korean military.

The cruise missiles were tipped with a "test warhead simulating a nuclear warhead," and flew 1,500-1,800 km (930-1,120 miles), according to KCNA.

The latest tests took place as South Korean and US troops launched their largest amphibious landing drills in years, involving a US amphibious assault ship, on Monday.

North Korea said military exercises by the United States and South Korea require its forces to "gird themselves for an all-out war and bolster up its nuclear force both in quality and quantity on a priority basis."

 South Korean soldiers take part in a joint military drill which is a part of the Freedom Shield joint military exercise between South Korea and US, at a military training field near the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, South Korea, March 16, 2023.  (credit: YONHAP VIA REUTERS)
South Korean soldiers take part in a joint military drill which is a part of the Freedom Shield joint military exercise between South Korea and US, at a military training field near the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, South Korea, March 16, 2023. (credit: YONHAP VIA REUTERS)

Pyongyang says preparing for invasion of North

Pyongyang has long bristled at exercises conducted by South Korean and US forces, saying they are preparation for an invasion of the North.

South Korea and the US say the exercises are purely defensive and have criticized the North's tests as destabilizing and in breach of UN sanctions.

The allies concluded 11 days of their regular springtime exercises, called Freedom Shield 23, on Thursday, but have other field training exercises continuing.

North Korean leader Kim expressed "his will to make the US imperialists and the South Korean puppet regime plunge into despair for their choice," KCNA said, adding that he warned the enemies that they should stop reckless anti-North Korea war drills.

The director of the US Defense Intelligence Agency said on Wednesday North Korean leader Kim does not appear poised to carry out a nuclear test during US-South Korea military exercises, but the United States is staying vigilant.