North Korea says it has created a weapon capable of triggering tsunamis

North Korea said on Thursday (March 23) that it had conducted tests with a new ballistic drone system for an underwater attack.

According to the North Korean government, the weapon has nuclear capability and is capable of causing a radioactive tsunami on a “super scale.”

The information is from the state news agency KCNA.

According to the agency, the exercises began on Tuesday (March 21) and ended on Thursday.

The Central Military Commission of the WPK (North Korean Workers’ Party) was in charge of the tests under the supervision of North Korean President Kim Jong-un.

North Korea’s Defense Science Research Institute began developing the “Haeil” weapon in 2012.

The drone system targets submerged areas to cause a “radioactive tsunami […] through underwater explosion” to destroy “adversary groups and their main operational ports.”

Also, according to the North Korean agency, the weaponry can be transported by a ship and used on any coast or seaport.

The North Korean military would also have conducted tests with cruise missiles and weaponry to release explosives over long distances and with high precision.

The state agency stated that none of the military exercises “had a negative impact on the security of North Korea’s neighboring countries.”

The agency further stated that the “intentional, persistent and provocative war exercises” by the United States and South Korea have brought North Korea’s military and political situation to an “irreversibly dangerous point.”

On March 2, 2023, the South Korean and US armies announced that they would hold joint military exercises for 11 days, which began on March 13, 2023.

Here is the official statement (225 KB).

Military cooperation between Seoul and Washington is not new. On January 2, 2023, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said that the country was in discussion with the United States regarding the possibility of holding joint exercises with nuclear assets.

On February 17, 2023, Kim Jong-un’s government threatened the United States and South Korea if the countries continued to hold joint military exercises.

In a statement released by the state-run KCNA news agency, the North Korean foreign ministry said it would take “unprecedented” actions against the two nations.

“Should the US and South Korea put into practice their already announced plan of military exercises that North Korea, with just apprehension and reason, considers as preparations for a war of aggression, they will face unprecedented strong and persistent reactions,” the North Korean statement said.

With information from Poder360

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