North Korea Tests 'Underwater Nuclear Weapon System'

Sol. North Korea said on Friday it had tested an 'underwater nuclear weapon system' in response to joint naval exercises by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo. The joint exercise posed a serious threat to North Korea's security, and in response, Pyongyang conducted an important test of its underwater nuclear weapon system 'Hel-5-23' under construction in the East Sea of ​​Korea, according to the official news agency KCNA. Earlier last year, Pyongyang said it had tested several underwater nuclear attack drones, claiming it could cause a 'radioactive tsunami'. Analysts have questioned whether Pyongyang has such weapons. At the beginning of this week, South Korea, the United States and Japan conducted joint naval exercises in the waters off the southern Jeju Island. Nine warships from three countries participated in the exercise, including the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. A spokesman for Pyongyang's defense ministry said on Friday, “This military exercise has served to further destabilize the regional situation and poses a serious threat to North Korea's security.” North Korea's test “brings our military closer to a countermeasure based on underwater nuclear weapons and will continue to deter hostile military maneuvers by the US and its allies,” the spokesman said. The long-strained relationship between the two Koreas has deteriorated sharply in recent months, with both sides scrapping key de-escalation agreements, beefing up border security and conducting live-attack drills across the border. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last week declared South Korea his country's 'main enemy' and declared that agencies working for reunification and access were inactive. – AFP