N Korea tests underwater nuclear attack drone

North Korea says it has tested a new underwater attack drone capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

A report by the North Korean State news agency, KCNA, says the drone system, called “Haeil”, or tsunami, is intended to make sneak attacks in enemy waters and destroy naval strike groups and major operational ports by creating a large radioactive wave through an underwater explosion.

“This nuclear underwater attack drone can be deployed at any coast and port or towed by a surface ship for operation,” the news agency said.

During the test, the new North Korean drone cruised underwater at a depth of 80 to 150 metres (260-500 feet) for over 59 hours and detonated a non-nuclear payload in waters off its east coast on Thursday, the KCNA said.

Analysts say North Korea is showing off its increasingly diverse nuclear threats to Washington and Seoul, though they are sceptical whether the underwater vehicle is ready for deployment.

Kim Jong Un, who reportedly oversaw the test, has repeatedly warned that joint military drills by South Korea and the U.S. should stop.

A South Korean military official said they were analysing North Korea’s claims. A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there was no indication of a nuclear test.

It is unclear whether North Korea has fully developed miniaturised nuclear warheads needed to fit on its smaller weapons.

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Analysts say perfecting such warheads would most likely be a key goal if the North resumes nuclear testing.

North Korea intends to signal “to the United States and South Korea that in a war, the potential vectors of nuclear weapons delivery that the allies would have to worry about and target would be vast,” said Ankit Panda, senior fellow at the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“There would be silos, railcars, submarines and road mobile missile launchers. And now they’re adding this underwater torpedo to the mix,” he said.

Panda said the weapon’s operational concept was similar to Russia’s Poseidon nuclear torpedoes, a new category of retaliatory weapon meant to create destructive, radioactive blasts in coastal areas.

On Monday, North Korea flew a short-range missile from a buried silo, a departure from usual basing methods.

Zainab Sa’id