North Korea said on Friday it had tested an underwater nuclear attack drone it said was in response to joint naval exercises between South Korea and the United States and Japan this week, as it continued to blame its rival for escalating tensions in the region.
The alleged drone test came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared he would scrap his country’s long-standing goal of peaceful unification with South Korea and that his country would rewrite its constitution to define South Korea as its most hostile foreign enemy.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen to their highest level in years, with Kim accelerating his weapons testing activities and threatening nuclear conflict.
The United States and its Asian allies have responded by stepping up their joint military exercises, which Kim calls training for aggression.
North Korea’s alleged nuclear attack drone, which the North first tested last year, is among a wide range of weapons systems on display in recent years as Kim develops his nuclear-capable arsenal.
North Korea’s suspected undersea nuclear strategic strike weapon fired in the waters off the coast of Riwon County in the East Korean Gulf on March 24, 2023. KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images USS Carl Vinson led a fleet of US, South Korean and Japanese destroyers in the waters international south coast of the Korean peninsula during the exercise on January 17, 2024. AP
South Korea’s military insists North Korea has exaggerated the capabilities of the drone, which it says is designed to carry out attacks on enemy ships and ports.
The North’s military said it conducted the test in waters east of the country in response to joint naval exercises with the US, South Korea and Japan, which ended Wednesday in waters south of Jeju island.
“Our underwater nuclear-based military counter-posture is being rounded up again and various maritime and underwater responsive actions will continue to deter the hostile military movements of the US navy and its allies,” the North’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared he will scrap his country’s long-standing goal of peaceful unification with South Korea. REUTERS The United States and its Asian allies have responded by stepping up their joint military exercises, which Kim calls training for aggression. ZUMAPRESS.com
“We strongly condemn the US and its followers for their reckless actions that have seriously threatened the security of the DPRK since the beginning of this year and strongly warn them of the catastrophic consequences they will bear,” he said, using the initials Utara. Official name of Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The North in recent months has also tested various missile systems designed to target the United States and its Asian allies, and announced a growing nuclear doctrine that authorizes the military to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike if the leadership in Pyongyang is under threat.
The North conducted its first ballistic missile test of 2024 on Sunday, which state media described as a new intermediate-range solid-fuel missile with a hypersonic warhead, likely aimed at targeting US military bases in Guam and Japan.
A composite of images from the North Korean government shows the country testing an underwater strategic weapons system between April 4 and 7, 2023. KNCA
At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday, South Korea urged the council to “break the silence” over North Korea’s increasing missile tests and threats.
The council’s permanent members, Russia and China, have blocked US-led efforts to increase sanctions on Pyongyang over its recent testing activities, underscoring deepening divisions over Russia’s war on Ukraine. South Korea is serving a two-year term on the council.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
