N Korea conducts ‘underwater nuclear weapons system’ test
S Korea calls on divided UN council 'to break the silence' on North Korea's tests and threats
Saturday, 20 January 2024
PYONGYANG, Jan 19 (BBC): North Korea says it has carried out a test of its "underwater nuclear weapons system" in response to drills by the US, South Korea and Japan this week.
The underwater drone, which supposedly can carry a nuclear weapon, was tested off the east coast, state media said.
There is no other evidence of the tests being conducted and Seoul had earlier said the North's descriptions of the drones' capability were exaggerated.
South Korea called the reported tests a "provocation".
It "threatens peace on [the] Korean Peninsula and the world," the South Korea's defence ministry said, adding: "If North Korea directly provokes us, we will respond in an overwhelming manner following the principle of immediate, strong, and terminal action."
The North has claimed tests of its "Haeil-5-23" system before, but the latest incident comes as the North has ramped up military action in recent weeks.
On Sunday, it claimed to have deployed a new solid-fuelled intermediate-range ballistic missile.
That followed live-fire drills at the maritime border with South Korea in the first week of January.
Pyongyang leader Kim Jong Un has also been increasingly aggressive in his policy direction and rhetoric - ending several agreements aimed at peace-keeping in recent months.
On Friday, North Korea said it had been provoked by joint drills by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo to carry out a test of its underwater weapons, according to a report by state agency KCNA.
Meanwhile, South Korea called on the divided UN Security Council on Thursday "to break the silence" over North Korea's escalating missile tests and threats.
"It's a big question," South Korea's UN Ambassador Hwang Joonkook told reporters after an emergency closed meeting of the council on the North's first ballistic missile test of 2024 on Sunday. South Korea is serving a two-year term on the council.
The Security Council imposed sanctions after North Korea's first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking - so far unsuccessfully - to cut funds and curb its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.