North Korea stated on Saturday that it has tested another underwater nuclear attack drone...
Digital Desk: North Korea stated on Saturday that it has tested another underwater nuclear attack drone in its latest response to South Korean and US military drills, though many have questioned if Pyongyang has such a weapon.
North Korea recently conducted an intercontinental ballistic missile launch as well as the test of what the country's official media claimed as an underwater drone with nuclear weapons capability.
"From April 4 to 7, a national defence science research institute in the DPRK conducted a test of an underwater strategic weapon system," the official Korean Central News Agency said.
"The underwater nuclear attack drone 'Haeil-2'... cruised 1,000 km of simulated underwater distance... for 71 hours and 6 minutes," it added.
"The test warhead successfully detonated underwater. The test successfully demonstrated the undersea strategic weapon system's durability and its capacity for a lethal attack," KCNA said.
In less than three weeks, North Korea claims to have tested underwater drones three times.
On March 23, it claimed to have performed the first test of the Haeil, which means tsunami in Korean, capable of unleashing a "radioactive tsunami," as it blamed US-South Korean exercises for weakening regional security.
Five days later, it announced that it had conducted a second test.
In response, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup informed lawmakers that Seoul was "able of tracking and identifying such drones infiltrating underwater."
Satellite footage has also revealed an increased level of activity at North Korea's main nuclear complex, following Kim Jong Un's command to increase the manufacture of weapons-grade nuclear material.
North Korea declared itself a "irreversible" nuclear power last year, and Kim has asked for a "exponential" increase in weapon manufacturing, including tactical nuclear weapons.
South Korea and the United States conducted joint air drills on Wednesday, with at least one US nuclear-capable B-52H strategic bomber participating, according to Seoul's military.
North Korea sees such drills as practise for invasion and has responded to previous recent drills with a series of increasingly aggressive banned weapons tests.
North Korea is attempting to broaden its delivery mechanism while also growing its nuclear stockpile.
Russia is claimed to have developed a similar weapon, nuclear-capable Poseidon torpedoes, but mastering the complicated technology required for such weaponry may still be beyond North Korea, experts say.
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However, the North's assertions regarding the tests should not be "simply dismissed as exaggerated," said Choi Gi-il, professor of military studies at Sangji University.
"While the North may have exaggerated the degree of success to some extent, they seem to demonstrate Pyongyang's underlying trust in this technology, some of which may have been imported from Russia," he added.
According to Choi, neither North Korea nor Russia have made a formal statement regarding the transfer of underwater drone technology.
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