24.03.2023
A new underwater nuclear attack drone tested by North Korea is aimed at sneaking into enemy waters for large-scale sneak attacks. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un condemned the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise.
(Deutsche Welle Chinese Network) North Korean state media reported on Friday (March 24) that the North Korean military tested a new type of underwaternuclear attackUnmanned boat.
The United States and South Korea recently conducted the largestjoint military exercise, Tensions on the Korean peninsula are further tense. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to “desperate” the two allies.
Nuclear radiation “tsunami”
Dubbed “Haueil,” which means “tsunami,” the new drone will be able to sneak into enemy waters and destroy its naval strike groups and major ports of operations.
This will be done by underwater explosions using large radiation waves, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
During testing, the drone cruised for more than 59 hours at depths between 80 and 150 meters.
Analysts remain skeptical about the readiness of the underwater vehicle. They warn, however, that the North Korean dictator is flaunting his diverse nuclear tactics as a threat to Washington and Seoul.
Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the United States, observed that the new unmanned boat is similar to Russia’s nuclear torpedo – a weapon whose mission is to create a damaging nuclear radiation explosion in coastal areas. new weapons.
North Korea warns of ‘nuclear crisis’ brewing
North Korea stepped up its display of weapons and equipment as Washington and Seoul completed an 11-day joint exercise called Freedom Shield 23.
Kim Jong-un oversaw the three-day drill, which also involved mock detonations of nuclear warheads, KCNA said.
According to North Korean media, the exercises were aimed at alerting the two allies to a brewing “nuclear crisis” as they continued their “intentional, persistent and provocative war exercises”.
The United States intends to send an aircraft carrier to conduct another round of joint military exercises with Seoul in the coming days.
South Korea responds: North Korea will pay for ‘reckless provocation’
Kim Jong-un believes that the military exercises conducted by the United States and South Korea are part of preparations for an invasion of North Korea.
However, Seoul and Washington insisted the drills were purely defensive.
They have criticized North Korea’s tests and accused the isolated nation of violating U.N. sanctions. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yue said on Friday he would make sure Pyongyang pays for its “reckless provocation”.
In 2022, Pyongyang launched more than 70 missiles. This year, North Korea has launched at least 20 ballistic and cruise missiles in 10 separate launches.
In response, Seoul and Washington expanded joint military exercises that had been scaled back in previous years.
Take stock of the missiles launched by North Korea in recent years
Hwasong-12 medium-range ballistic missile
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency released a photo on January 31 showing a test-launch of Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) on Sunday (January 30). The missile, powerful enough to hit the U.S. territory of Guam, was North Korea’s seventh weapons test so far this month, a launch that both South Korea and Japan condemned.
Take stock of the missiles launched by North Korea in recent years
KN-24 short-range ballistic missile
On January 17, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) suspected to be KN-24s from an airport in the capital, Pyongyang. According to North Korean state media, the two missiles “accurately hit an island target off the country’s east coast”. The missiles, which were last tested in March 2020, appear to have entered mass production and deployment to military units, analysts said. The KN-24 missile is similar to the U.S. MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and is able to evade missile defenses by flying on a flatter trajectory than conventional ballistic missiles.
Take stock of the missiles launched by North Korea in recent years
Second hypersonic missile test this month
North Korea’s official KCNA news agency released photos showing the North Korean National Defense Research Institute conducted a test of a new type of hypersonic missile at an undisclosed location on January 11, 2022. It is said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also attended the test. Hypersonic weapons typically fly at lower altitudes than ballistic missiles, and experts say their main characteristic is not their speed but their maneuverability, which could help them evade missile defenses. This is North Korea’s second such missile test this month.
Take stock of the missiles launched by North Korea in recent years
First test of hypersonic missile in 2022
On January 5, 2022, the South Korean military said that North Korea fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile into the East China Sea from Cijiang Province in the north. North Korea’s state-run KCNA later released a report saying North Korea had tested a newly developed hypersonic missile. North Korea tested this missile for the first time in September 2021. The Korean Central News Agency pointed out that this launch reconfirmed the flight control and stability of the missile during the active flight phase. Experts have warned that if North Korea fully develops the technology, it will pose a serious threat to neighboring countries.
Take stock of the missiles launched by North Korea in recent years
SLBM
A combined photo released by North Korea’s official KCNA on October 20, 2021 shows that North Korea launched a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from a submarine in waters the day before (October 19). The South Korean military said on Oct. 19 that North Korea fired what appeared to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile into the East Sea from waters east of its east coast city of Sinpo.
Take stock of the missiles launched by North Korea in recent years
launch a missile from a train
This image provided by the Korean Central News Agency shows North Korea’s Railway Mobile Missile Corps launching a missile, which experts call a KN-23 ballistic missile, during a drill.
Take stock of the missiles launched by North Korea in recent years
New long-range cruise missile
A group of pictures released by the North Korean official media KCNA on September 13, 2021 shows that a long-range cruise missile is flying in the air after being launched. Pyongyang test-fired a new long-range cruise missile on September 11 and 12. The missiles “flew for 7,580 seconds in an elliptical and figure-eight flight trajectory over North Korean territory and waters” and “hit targets 1,500 kilometers away,” KCNA reported.
Take stock of the missiles launched by North Korea in recent years
New Tactical Guided Ammunition
This photo released by Pyongyang shows the newly developed new tactical guided artillery shell, which the Korean Central News Agency said was launched on March 25, 2021.
Take stock of the missiles launched by North Korea in recent years
Polaris-2 medium-range ballistic missile
North Korean TV provided a screenshot of a video on May 22, 2017, which said the weapon was an intermediate-range ballistic missile Pukguksong-2, which is believed to be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
(Associated Press, Reuters)
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