North Korea says it has tested a nuclear-capable submarine attack drone

North Korea said on Friday it had used an underwater drone to practice launching a nuclear strike against an enemy seaport, saying threats from the United States and its allies were against it. forcing develop various media carry out nuclear attacks.

The drone was launched from the North East Coast on Tuesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

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According to the report, he traveled underwater for more than 59 hours, reaching his goal on Thursday afternoon and his “test header“-not a real nuclear device- detonated underwater.

The purpose was not specified.

The drone, called a Haeil, or tsunami, was designed to infiltrate enemy waters and ’cause a radioactive tsunami scale using an underwater explosion” to destroy ships and ports, according to the report.

State media broadcast photos of Northern leader, Kim Jong Uninspecting a torpedo-shaped vehicle in a warehouse and another similar one that traveled and exploded underwater.

There was no independent confirmation that the test had taken place.

The South Korean military, which usually confirms North Korean ballistic missile tests soon after they take place, said it was trying to determine whether the report was accurate, “taking into account several possibilities.”

Testing an underwater attack drone, let alone one capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, would be a scoop for the North.

North Korea has conducted a series of weapons tests in recent months, claiming that some of the missiles it launches may carry nuclear warheads.

North Korea made a similar claim on Friday about strategic cruise missiles it launched Wednesday off its east coast.

The missiles’ test warheads were detonated mid-flight to test their “nuclear blast control devices and detonators,” according to state media.

Earlier in the week, state media said a ballistic missile test on Sunday also detonated a simulated nuclear warhead.

Although North Korea has conducted six underground nuclear tests since 2016, it is unclear whether it has developed the kind of nuclear strike capability its state media often claim it has.

The North claims it has nuclear warheads small and light enough to mount on drones, as well as on cruise and short-range missiles.

South Korea has said it is carefully evaluating developments in the North’s capabilities, something the Kim government has often exaggerated.

Kim Dong-yub, a North Korean weapons expert at the North Korean University of Seoul, South Korea, says that “it is difficult to determine to what extent we can trust North Korean claims.”

But it would be wise not to underestimate the North, he said, noting that other nations have developed various unmanned submarine weapon systems.

According to the North’s report, the drone could be towed by a ship and launched into the sea, which, if the drone were nuclear-capable, would extend the range of its nuclear arsenal.

North Korea has been trying for years build a submarine which can launch nuclear missiles far from its shores, but has not yet deployed any.

Kim Jong Un, observing the weapons tests this week, called them evidence that the North’s “unlimited” nuclear deterrent was “strengthening at a faster rate,” according to state media.

He also said the United States and South Korea must end their “reckless” joint military exercises which the North describes as evidence of an invasion.

The two allies concluded 11-day joint exercises on Thursday, the largest in years in terms of the number of troops involved.

They are also in the midst of another exercise, including an amphibious landing exercise, which will continue through early April.

The North’s test of underwater drones, if it even took place, came as a fleet of South Korean and US vessels joined the amphibious landing exercise, sailing towards Pohang, a port city on South Korea’s east coast.

Next week, the US aircraft carrier Nimitz will visit the largest port city of Busan.

c.2023 The New York Times Society