North Korea announced Friday that it had tested an underwater nuclear weapon system in response to joint naval exercises between Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo that included a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
The drills were seriously threatening the security of the North, so Pyongyang conducted an important test of its underwater nuclear weapon system ‘Haeil-5-23’ under development in the East Sea of Korea, according to the defence ministry.
Pyongyang claimed to have conducted repeated tests of a putative underwater nuclear attack drone, a new version of the Haeil, which means tsunami in Korean, and that it could unleash a radioactive tsunami early last year.
Experts have wondered if Pyongyang possesses such a weapon.
Earlier this week, South Korea, the United States, and Japan conducted combined naval drills in waters off southern Jeju Island, claiming they were in response to North Korea’s hypersonic missile test on Sunday.
The drills included nine warships from the three countries, including the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.
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