© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A North Korean flag flies next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
By Soo Hyang Choi
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea has tested a new nuclear-capable underwater attack drone that can generate a radioactive tsunami, state media reported on Friday, as they blamed joint South Korean and U.S. military exercises for raising tensions. in the region.
During the drill, the new North Korean drone sailed underwater at a depth of 80 to 150 meters (260-500 feet) for more than 59 hours and detonated in waters off its east coast on Thursday, the North’s state news agency said. KCNA.
Dubbed “Haeil,” or tsunami, the drone system is intended to carry out sneak attacks in enemy waters and destroy naval strike groups and major operating ports by generating a large-scale radioactive wave through an underwater explosion, the KCNA said. .
“This nuclear submarine attack drone can be deployed on any coast and port or towed by a surface ship for operation,” the news agency said, adding that the test had been supervised by leader Kim Jong Un.
It is not clear whether North Korea has fully developed the miniaturized nuclear warheads needed to fit its smaller weapons.
Analysts say perfecting smaller warheads is likely to be a key goal if the North resumes nuclear tests.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said Pyongyang’s latest claim to have a nuclear-capable underwater drone “must be met with skepticism.”
“But it is clearly intended to show that the Kim regime has so many different means of nuclear attack that any preemptive strike or decapitation against it would fail disastrously,” he said.
CRUISE MISSILES
KCNA also confirmed that North Korea fired cruise missiles on Wednesday to practice carrying out tactical nuclear strike missions, confirming earlier reports by the South Korean military.
The cruise missiles were equipped with a “test warhead that simulated a nuclear warhead” and flew 1,500 to 1,800 km (930 to 1,120 miles), according to KCNA.
The drill verified the reliability of its control devices and detonators in an airburst and served as a demonstration of another military strike capability, KCNA added.
North Korea said the latest weapons tests and exercises had no negative impact on the security of neighboring countries.
The latest tests came as South Korean and US troops launched their biggest amphibious landing exercises in years on Monday, involving a US amphibious assault ship.
North Korea said the United States and South Korea were bringing the situation on the Korean peninsula to an “irreversibly dangerous point” with their exercises, and that such moves require their forces to “prepare for all-out war and bolster their strength.” nuclear”. both in quality and quantity as a priority”.
The US ship, USS Makin Island, docked at a naval base in the southeastern South Korean port city of Busan on Wednesday with 10 F-35 stealth fighters.
Pyongyang has long been angry with the exercises conducted by the South Korean and US forces, saying they are a preparation for an invasion by the North.
South Korea and the United States say the exercises are purely defensive and have criticized the tests as destabilizing and in violation of UN sanctions.
The allies wrapped up 11 days of their regular spring exercises, called Freedom Shield 23, on Thursday but are continuing with other field training exercises.