[NTD Times, Beijing time, April 10, 2023]About two weeks ago, North Korea conducted its first underwater nuclear attack drone test. Recently, the Pyongyang authorities conducted another underwater nuclear attack test and claimed that the “reliability and lethal attack capability” of the system had been verified. North Korea’s continuous increase in nuclear testing has aroused vigilance from the outside world.
On Saturday (April 8), the Korean Central News Agency reported that from April 4 to 7, the North Korean Institute of Defense Science conducted a second test of the underwater strategic weapon system. This time, the underwater nuclear attack unmanned ship, code-named “Tsunami-2” (Haeil-2), detonated a test warhead underwater after simulating an underwater cruise of 1,000 kilometers (about 621 miles). “This test perfectly demonstrated the reliability and lethal attack capability of the underwater strategic weapon system,” the report claimed.
Prior to this (March 23), the North Korean official media announced for the first time that the country had tested a new underwater strategic weapon system code-named “Tsunami-1” (Haeil-1), which is an underwater weapon system capable of triggering a “radioactive tsunami”. Under nuclear attack unmanned boat. It is said that this kind of unmanned boat can sneak into enemy waters to destroy its naval strike group and main combat port. Its attack mission will be completed by underwater explosion and using large radiation waves.
This propaganda by North Korean state media has been questioned by the outside world. The South Korean military publicly stated at the time that North Korea’s claims about “Tsunami-1” “may be exaggerated or fabricated.”
After North Korea’s official media once again boasted of its second test of an underwater nuclear attack drone, the South Korean media broadcast footage of North Korea’s test of an underwater nuclear explosion drone. Choi Gi-il, a professor of military studies at Shangji University in South Korea, expressed caution and vigilance in an interview with AFP.
“While North Korea may have exaggerated the extent of its success to some extent, these moves appear to indicate Pyongyang’s underlying confidence in the technology, some of which may have been transferred from Russia,” he said.
In the past two years, the North Korean authorities have been expanding their military tests, and the frequency of their testing of nuclear weapons has obviously accelerated. Last year, North Korea fired more than 70 missiles, setting a record. North Korea has launched at least 20 ballistic and cruise missiles this year. In recent weeks, North Korea has demonstrated new, smaller nuclear warheads and tested an intercontinental ballistic missile. Not long ago, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered an increase in the production of weapons-grade nuclear material.
According to a report by the American think tank “38 North” (38 North), which has been closely monitoring North Korea’s nuclear weapons for a long time, satellite images show that the activities of North Korea’s main nuclear facilities have recently become more active.
The United Nations has long had a resolution prohibiting North Korea from conducting ballistic missile tests, but the North Korean authorities have always turned a deaf ear to the United Nations ban. The frequent missile tests conducted by the North Korean authorities have made the country subject to international sanctions in terms of economy and technology, but the CCP has been providing funds to North Korea openly and covertly. The outside world has always suspected that the CCP may have secretly even given some degree of support to the North Korean authorities in nuclear-related technology.
(Comprehensive report by reporter Liming/Responsible editor: Hu Long)