North Korea has again tested an underwater drone capable of generating radioactive tsunamis, the official North Korean news agency reported today.
The test took place between Saturday and Monday, KCNA said, adding that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected different models of nuclear warheads at the headquarters of the nuclear weapons research institute in Pyongyang.
The announcement came after the North Korean regime disclosed, on Friday, the existence of this new submarine weapon, in an apparent response to military maneuvers by South Korea and the United States, taking place in the region.
The ‘drone’ (unmanned aerial device), which KCNA identified as Haeil-1 (Tsunami-1, in Korean), was tested off the east coast and detonated the simulated warhead in the target area, after traveling 600 kilometers in a “irregular and elliptical” route lasting 41 hours and 27 minutes.
The test served to verify the “reliability and safety” of the weapon.
South Korea said on Monday it doubted the capabilities of the ‘drone’, similar to the Russian Poseidon torpedo, and considered it to be at a very early stage of development.
During the visit to the institute, KCNA also noted, Kim Jong-un was “familiarizing himself” with “the technical specifications of the new tactical nuclear weapons, according to the targets to be achieved, the structural and operational characteristics and compatibility with various weapons systems.
Kim was also briefed on progress in computerizing the combined nuclear weapons management system Haekbangsoe (Korean word for “nuclear shot”), “whose scientific accuracy, reliability and safety have been rigorously proven in the recent tactical drill simulating a nuclear counterattack”. ”, said the agency, referring to an exercise carried out ten days ago by Pyongyang.
