North Korea tests 'underwater nuclear weapons system' amid US drills

PYONGYANG: North Korea has reportedly tested a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone on Friday, according to state media.

The testing was done in response to joint naval exercises conducted by South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday, the North Korea’s Ministry of Defence said that Pyongyang tested the Haeil-5-23 in waters off the east coast as the US and its allies were “seriously threatening the security” of the country and “destabilising the regional situation.”

“Our army’s underwater nuke-based countering posture is being further rounded off, and its various maritime and underwater responsive actions will continue to deter the hostile military manoeuvres of the navies of the US and its allies,” the statement said, warning of “catastrophic consequences” for the US and its “followers”.

Last year, North Korea asserted it tested a drone twice, claiming its capability for sneak attacks and the potential to unleash a “radioactive tsunami” through an underwater explosion.

The weapon’s operation lacks independent verification, with South Korean officials stating its capabilities are exaggerated, Al Jazeera reported.

This week, Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo conducted joint naval drills involving nine warships, including the USS Carl Vinson, off South Korea’s south coast. The drills were announced after Pyongyang tested a solid-fuel missile with a hypersonic warhead.

Details about the tested drone remain limited.

Mason Richey, a professor in Seoul, notes its likely slowness (around 8 knots per hour) and vulnerability to anti-submarine warfare. He suggests its value is more in “political signalling” than practical military use.

“This does not make North Korea happy, and the political signal from this message here is quite clear – that it’s going to continue to develop its nuclear arsenal in this sort of … spiral situation that we find ourselves in now,” Richey added.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen amid Pyongyang’s weapons tests. Kim Jong Un’s moves to roll back reconciliation efforts led to the closure of inter-Korean rapprochement bodies.

On Thursday, US, South Korean, and Japanese nuclear envoys gathered in Seoul to condemn Pyongyang’s weapons tests and arms trade with Russia.

Kim’s recent policy address worsened the tit-for-tat trend, stating South Korea would no longer be seen as kin but as a foreign state and the top enemy, to be subjugated in a nuclear war on the peninsula, Al Jazeera reported.