North Korea Claims Successful Test of Underwater Nuclear Weapons System

North Korea's Response to Naval Drills

North Korea claimed on Friday that it had successfully tested an underwater nuclear weapons system earlier this week in response to naval drills conducted by the United States, South Korea, and Japan. According to North Korean state media, the military conducted a new test of its underwater nuclear-capable drone, the Haeil, in waters off the southern end of the peninsula. This test was described as a response to what North Korea referred to as 'frantic' and 'provocative' military exercises by the US and its allies. The state media also mentioned that the Haeil system could carry a nuclear warhead that could create a 'radioactive tsunami,' though analysts at the time said Pyongyang offered no proof.

Warships from South Korea, the US and Japan perform a trilateral exercise in the waters south of Jeju between January 15 and 17, 2024.

North Korean state media did not provide evidence for the success of the latest test but warned the US, South Korea, and Japan of the 'catastrophic consequences' of their actions. The Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) report stated, 'The armed forces of (North Korea) will strike horror into their hearts through responsible, prompt, and bold exercise of its deterrent.'

The US-led trilateral naval exercises, which included aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, Japanese helicopter carrier JS Hyūga, and guided-missile-equipped surface ships from the three partners, were conducted to 'advance the deterrence and response capabilities to North Korea’s nuclear, missile, and underwater threats,' South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Pyongyang called the exercises 'an act of seriously threatening the security' of North Korea that further destabilized the situation in the region, according to state media.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula

Already high tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been growing since late December when KCNA reported that leader Kim Jong Un had instructed the country’s army, munitions industry, nuclear weapons, and civil defense sectors to accelerate war preparations in response to 'confrontation moves' by the US.

Kim followed that up by saying North Korea will no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with South Korea, a stance he reiterated earlier this week by telling the country’s Supreme People’s Assembly that a massive monument to the possible reunification of the Korean Peninsula must be destroyed. Kim called it an 'eyesore,' according to KCNA.

North and South Korea have been cut off from each other since the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice. The two sides are still technically at war, but both governments have long sought the goal of one day reunifying.

Relations between North and South Korea have ebbed and flowed over the decades, but tensions have remained particularly high in recent years after Kim ramped up the country’s nuclear weapons program in defiance of international sanctions.

In just the past month, North Korea has been stepping up military activities, including firing hundreds of artillery rounds into waters near a disputed border between North and South and testing what it said was a ballistic missile topped with a hypersonic glide vehicle.

Kim on Monday called the South the North’s 'primary foe and invariable principal enemy.' Analysts say it all points to an even more intractable North Korea.

International Concerns

The recent escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula has raised concerns internationally. Analysts believe that Pyongyang's rejection of dialogue and its focus on nuclear weapons signal an ideological adjustment for regime survival. This has justified Kim’s intensified focus on nuclear weapons, according to experts.

The United States has expressed concern over North Korea's aggressive military activities. The US said that already high tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been further exacerbated by North Korea's recent actions. The use of North Korean missiles in Ukraine has also raised concerns and implications for the broader Asia region.