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North Korea tests underwater nuclear weapons system

2024-01-19 08:03:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

North Korea has conducted a test of its underwater nuclear weapons system in response to drills by the US, South Korea and Japan this week.

Testing of its alleged nuclear-armed underwater drones took place off the east coast.

The North has claimed tests of its Haeil-5-23 system before, but the weapons have never been verified.

South Korea and its allies have yet to respond to the latest provocation.

But it comes as the North has stepped up military actions in recent weeks, including claiming to have deployed a new solid-fueled intermediate-range ballistic missile on Sunday.

This followed live-fire drills on the maritime border with South Korea in the first week of January.

Pyongyang's leader, Kim Jong Un, has also been increasingly aggressive in his policy direction and rhetoric, ending several peacekeeping agreements in recent months.

On Friday, North Korea said it was provoked by joint drills by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo to conduct a test of its underwater weapons, according to a report by state news agency KCNA.

He accused the exercises of "further destabilizing the regional situation" and threatening the security of the North.

The US, South Korea and Japan say they have conducted more drills over the past year as a preemptive response to North Korea's increasing frequency of military actions, which include multiple tests of its nuclear ballistic missiles and weapons launches. News. All such actions are in violation of UN sanctions.

But Kim has repeatedly said his regime is building up its military arsenal in preparation for war that could "break out at any time" on the peninsula.

Over the New Year period, he signaled some fundamental policy changes in his regime's stance toward South Korea.

And earlier this week he declared that the previously fundamental goal of reunification with South Korea was over, labeling the South as the "principle enemy".

The rhetoric follows several claimed advances in his country's military and nuclear capabilities including its underwater operations. Since March 2023, it has also claimed tests of its Haeil system, an unmanned drone armed with underwater nuclear weapons. Haeil means "tsunami" in Korean.

Little is known about these weapons or their claimed performance, but North Korean media have described them as capable of sneaking into enemy waters and setting off large underwater explosions.

Analysts have said that if the weapons work as presented by the North, they would be seen as a less important weapon than the regime's nuclear ballistic missiles. / CNA