North Korea Says It Tested Underwater Drone Capable of Generating ‘Radioactive Tsunami’

People watch a television news screen showing a picture of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un witnessing the recent test-firing of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), at a railway station in Seoul on March 17, 2023. Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images

North Korea tested an underwater attack drone capable of generating a “super-scale radioactive tsunami” that would destroy enemy naval striker groups and ports, the regime’s official mouthpiece said on Friday.

The regime’s Central Military Commission commanded the drills from March 21 to 23, state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

KCNA said the drone was deployed off the coast of Riwon County in South Hamgyong province on Tuesday and reached the target point in the waters off Hongwon Bay, set as a mock enemy port on Thursday.

According to the report, the nuclear-capable drone cruised underwater at a depth of 80 to 150 meters (262 to 492 feet) in the East Sea of Korea for 59 hours and 12 minutes before detonating underwater on Thursday.

KCNA said the secret weapon was named “unmanned underwater nuclear attack craft Haeil” at the 8^th Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party in 2021, and has undergone more than 50 shakedowns in the past two years.

The drone is designed to “stealthily infiltrate into operational waters and make a super-scale radioactive tsunami through underwater explosion to destroy naval striker groups and major operational ports of the enemy,” it stated.

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

Strategic Cruise Missile Launches

North Korea also test-fired four strategic cruise missiles “tipped with a test warhead simulating a nuclear warhead” on March 22, according to KCNA.

The missiles were launched from the South Hamgyong province and flew 1,500 kilometers to 1,800 kilometers (932 to 1,118 miles) for 7,557 to 7,567 seconds and 9,118 to 9,129 seconds, respectively, it stated.

An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is launched in this undated photo released on Nov. 19, 2022, by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via Reuters

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to make the United States and South Korea realize that they “are bound to lose more than they get and face a greater threat” over their “expansion of war drills in the region,” KCNA reported.

South Korea detected North Korea’s “multiple” missile launches at around 10.15 a.m. (local time) but did not elaborate.

The cruise missile launches came just three days after North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile that landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

South Korea and the United States staged air drills over the Korean Peninsula on March 19, featuring South Korean F-35A stealth fighters and U.S. B-1B strategic bombers.

The two allies wrapped up their 11-day Freedom Shield exercise on Thursday, which featured live exercises with constructive simulations focused on North Korea’s aggression.

U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division Stryker Battalion prepare for a Warrior Shield live fire exercise at a military training field in Pocheon on March 22, 2023, as part of the Freedom Shield joint military exercise. Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images

The United States and South Korea have said that their joint military drills are defensive in nature, but North Korea regards them as “a rehearsal for an invasion.”

Hwasong-17 ICBM Launch

On March 16, North Korea launched its largest Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in retaliation for the Freedom Shield exercises.

The ICBM was launched hours before South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol flew to Japan for a summit that discussed ways to counter the nuclear-armed North.

Photos released by North Korea’s state media showed Kim watching the ICBM launch with his daughter and included pictures from space, apparently shot by a camera mounted on the missile.

KCNA said the missile was launched from Pyongyang’s airport, and traveled up to a maximum altitude of 6,045 kilometers (3,756 miles), and flew a distance of 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) for 69 minutes before falling into the open sea.

The Hwasong-17 is known to be North Korea’s largest ICBM, estimated to have a range of over 13,000 kilometers (8,078 miles), making it capable of striking any location in the continental United States.

The United States has persisted in engaging in “direct talks” with North Korea without preconditions in favor of a diplomatic solution, but North Korea has rebuffed these efforts.

Reuters contributed to this report.