North Korea claims another test of underwater nuclear drone

North Korea claimed it tested this week a second known type of nuclear-capable underwater attack drone designed to destroy naval vessels and ports, adding to a flurry of weapons demonstrations this year that have heightened tensions with rivals.

The report of the four-day test came a day after the nuclear envoys of the United States, South Korea and Japan met in Seoul to discuss the growing North Korean nuclear threat and called for stronger international efforts to crack down on illicit North Korean activities funding its weapons program.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said the drone, named “Haeil-2″ after a Korean word meaning ‘tsunamis’ or ‘tidal waves’, travelled underwater for more than 71 hours before successfully detonating a mock warhead in waters near the eastern port city of Tanchon on Friday. KCNA said the test proved that the weapon could strike targets 1,000 kilometres away with “fatal attack ability”.

North Korea claimed it tested a second known type of nuclear-capable underwater attack drone this week. Photo / AP

North Korean state media last month reported two tests of another drone, named “Haeil-1”, and described the weapon as capable of setting off a “radioactive tsunami” to destroy enemy vessels and ports.

Analysts, however, are sceptical about whether such a device would add a meaningful new threat to North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal built around missiles and whether it’s reasonable for the North to pursue such capabilities, considering its still-limited supplies of nuclear bomb fuel. South Korea’s military has said it believes North Korean claims about Haeil-1 were likely “exaggerated or fabricated”.

US President Joe Biden’s special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, met with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Seoul, where they issued a joint statement calling for stronger international support to stem North Korean efforts to evade UN Security Council sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons ambitions.

US special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim. Photo / AP

The envoys expressed particular concern about North Korea’s cybercrimes and illicit labour exports, which Seoul says could possibly expand as it further re-opens its borders as Covid-19 fears ease.

In 2023 alone, North Korea fired around 30 missiles in 11 different launch events, including an intercontinental ballistic missile that demonstrated potential range to reach the US mainland and several shorter-range weapons designed to deliver nuclear strikes on South Korean targets.