A new nuclear threat is brewing in North Korea. The North Korean state agency KCNA claims to have tested an underwater nuclear attack drone that would be capable of unleashing a “radioactive tsunami”, comparable to the 2M39 Poseidon, a Russian nuclear-powered torpedo equipped with a multi-megaton warhead.
The purpose of this remotely controllable torpedo, which has been given the name “Haeil”, is to “stealthily infiltrate operational waters and produce a large-scale radioactive tsunami.” […] to destroy enemy naval strike groups and major operating ports,” he added.
Analysts have disputed these tests. The idea that Pyongyang has “a nuclear-capable underwater drone should be met with skepticism,” said Professor Leif-Eric Easley of Ewha University in Seoul.
In a post on Twitter, US analyst Ankit Panda did not rule out that the test’s claim was an “attempted deception/psyop.”
The nuclear energy?
After a record year of weapons tests and rising nuclear threats from Pyongyang in 2022, Seoul and Washington stepped up defense cooperation and held their biggest joint military exercises in five years from March 13-23, 2023.
North Korea views all such drills as rehearsals for an invasion of its territory and has repeatedly warned that it will respond to them in a “massive” manner. On Friday, KCNA described the joint US-South Korean exercises, dubbed “Freedom Shield,” as an exercise aimed at “occupying” North Korea.
Pyongyang’s “submarine nuclear attack drone” exercise was conducted “with the aim of warning the enemy against a real nuclear crisis,” the agency reported. Kim Jong Un also noted that the North’s nuclear capabilities are “strengthening at a faster rate,” according to KCNA.
Friday’s statement comes about a week after Pyongyang tested its most powerful missile, the Hwasong-17, its second intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test in 2023.
Source: BFM TV
