North Korea said on Friday it had tested an “undersea nuclear weapons system” in response to joint naval exercises by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo, raising fears of a toughening of Pyongyang's position.
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The trilateral exercises, which involved a nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier, “posed a serious threat to the security” of the North, North Korea's defense ministry said in a statement cited by state agency KCNA.
In response, Pyongyang “conducted a significant test of its developing submarine nuclear weapons system 'Haeil-5-23' in Korea's East Sea,” the ministry added, referring to an area also known as the “Lake of Korea” is known as Japan.
Earlier this week, South Korea, the United States and Japan conducted joint naval military exercises south of South Korea's Jeju Island, saying they did so in response to a ballistic missile launch by Pyongyang on Sunday.
Nine ships from the three countries took part in the exercises, including the US nuclear aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.
These maneuvers “constituted a cause for further destabilization of the regional situation,” Pyongyang said on Friday, calling them a “serious threat to the security” of the North, the ministry spokesman added, according to KCNA.
The test announced on Friday, the exact date of which was not given, will allow “further strengthening of our army's nuclear-based underwater counterattack system,” the spokesman stressed, assuring that Pyongyang's various maritime and submarine responses “will further strengthen our army's nuclear-based underwater counterattack system.” would enable the underwater counterattack system to be strengthened.” “continue to deter hostile military maneuvers by the U.S. Navy and its allies.”
Recent months have seen a sharp deterioration in long-strained relations between the two Koreas. Both sides abandoned key agreements aimed at reducing tensions, strengthening border security and conducting live-fire exercises along the border.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently called the South the “main enemy” and threatened Seoul with war for any violation of “even 0.001 mm” of North Korean territory.
Drones in use?
Last year, Pyongyang claimed to have conducted several tests of a so-called underwater nuclear attack drone – another version of Haeil, which means “tsunami” in Korean, and said the weapon could trigger “a radioactive tsunami”.
Friday's announcement of the submarine test was “a clear sign of the deployment of Haeil drones in naval fleets for their use,” said Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.
“The North's statement clarifies Pyongyang's position that it will respond proportionately to the military exercises of the South, Japan and the United States,” he noted, adding that the North does not appear to be trying to “cross the border to attack.” to provoke”. armed conflict.
Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher head of the Global Institute for North Korea Studies, said it was “difficult to determine the exact capabilities” of North Korea's alleged underwater nuclear weapons systems.
“Given North Korea's scientific defense level and the fact that the weapon is still in the development stage, it is not yet capable of posing a significant threat,” he told AFP.
At the end of 2023, Kim Jong Un again threatened nuclear strikes against Seoul and ordered the acceleration of military preparations for a “war” that could start at any time on the peninsula.
Pyongyang announced on Sunday that it had fired a ballistic missile with a maneuverable hypersonic warhead, days after conducting live artillery exercises on its west coast near South Korean islands whose civilians were called to protect them.
After two consecutive failures in May and June, North Korea successfully launched its first military observation satellite into orbit in November after receiving Russian help in exchange for weapons for the war in Ukraine, according to Seoul.