'Lethal Cruise': What is the New Underwater Drone North Korea Claims to Have Tested?
13:20 GMT 24.03.2023 (Updated: 13:34 GMT 18.09.2023)
© AP Photo / Lee Jin-man
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The drone, which was reportedly test-fired by Pyongyang earlier this week, ostensibly can be deployed "at any coast and port or towed by a surface ship for operation."
North Korea claimed on Friday that it tested a new underwater drone that is purportedly capable of carrying a nuclear warhead that could create a "radioactive tsunami" towards the destination of its user's choosing.
So what is this drone all about and is it really capable of spawning a massive radioactive tidal wave? Sputnik has answers to these and other questions:
What Do We Know of the Purported Underwater Drone?
North Korea's state-run news network reported that the drone, called the "Unmanned Underwater Nuclear Attack Craft ‘Haeil’ (Korean for tsunami)," was allegedly tested between March 21 and March 23.
According to the news outlet, the "Haeil made a 'lethal' cruise underwater between a depth of 80m (400ft) to 150m (600ft) for 59 hours and 12 minutes" in waters off the country's east coast before its test warhead was detonated "at the simulated target" on Thursday afternoon.
"The mission of the underwater nuclear strategic weapon is 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," media reported.
The news network added that the drone's test "verified its reliability and safety and fully confirmed its lethal strike capability." The media outlet claimed that it can be deployed from any port or towed by a surface ship to begin its operations.
The North Korean military itself remains tight-lipped about the Haeil’s performance characteristics, including its dimensions, speed and range.
First ever video footage of #North #Korea's long range Hwasal-1/Hwasal-2 "strategic" cruise missiles. pic.twitter.com/BgofJTE9vN
— International Defence Analysis (@Defence_IDA) March 24, 2023
Judging by a video of the drone's launch released on Friday, the Haeil is related to the category of the so-called autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), which can move without a human operator.
What About Drone's Nuclear Capabilities?
"The mission of the underwater nuclear strategic weapon is 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," the North Korean media report said without further elaborating on the matter.
Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans' University in Seoul, was cited by a US broadcaster as saying that "Pyongyang’s latest claim to have a nuclear-capable underwater drone should be met with skepticism."
"It is clearly intended to show that the Kim regime has so many different means of nuclear attack that any pre-emptive or decapitation strike against it would fail disastrously," he said.
A TV screen shows a recent image released by Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in South Korea, Friday, March 24, 2023. North Korea said Friday its cruise missile launches this week were part of nuclear attack simulations that also involved a detonation by a purported underwater drone as leader Kim Jong Un vowed to make his rivals "plunge into despair."
© AP Photo / Lee Jin-man
Easley was echoed by Ankit Panda, a nuclear policy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who wrote on social media that he "tends to take North Korea seriously, but can’t rule out the possibility that this is an attempt at deception."
He added that it would be "ill-advised" to allocate limited fissile material for a warhead in an underwater drone, as opposed to a more "road-mobile" ballistic missiles.
How Long Has Haeil Been Developed?
According to KCNA, the weapon has been in development since 2012 and has undergone more than 50 tests over the past two years, including 29 ones that were directly managed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
A TV screen shows an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in South Korea, Friday, March 24, 2023. North Korea said Friday its latest cruise missile launches this week were part of nuclear attack simulations that also involved a test of a purported underwater attack drone as leader Kim Jong Un vowed to make his rivals "plunge into despair."
© AP Photo / Lee Jin-man
The media also reported that the “Haeil” drones had achieved full operational capabilities by December 2022 after the senior members of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea approved their deployment to the country’s armed forces.
Is Haeil on a Par With Russia's Poseidon Torpedo?
Some were quick to draw parallels between the Haeil and the Poseidon, the Russian-made submarine-launched, nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicle capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear munitions. One US media outlet reported that the vehicle’s nuclear propulsion system "would give the Poseidon virtually limitless range."
Poseidon, which is still being tested, was touted by Russian President Vladimir Putin as one of half a dozen new strategic systems meant to ensure Russia’s ability to respond in the event of nuclear aggression by the US or its allies. According to Putin, the vehicle is capable of traveling at great depths and with an intercontinental range at speeds several times greater than most submarines and modern torpedoes can achieve.
North Korea's purported new underwater weapon, however, has significant differences from the Poseidon.
As one US broadcaster reported, the Haeil "is conventionally powered and is not launched from a sub, meaning it would not be on a par with the Russian [Poseidon] torpedo."
