[Yonhap / KCNA]
According to Pyongyang's state news agency, a new underwater attack weapon system test was conducted at Riwon County some 345 kilometers (214 miles) northeast of Seoul from March 21 to 23. A secret weapon named "Unmanned Underwater Nuclear Attack Craft 'Haeil'" was tested during the drill.
The underwater nuclear attack drone named Haeil, which means a tidal wave in the Korean language, is capable of being deployed at any coast and port, or towed by a surface ship for operation. Haeil was deployed on the coast of Riwon on March 21 to reach a mock enemy empty port with a test warhead by cruising along an oval and 8-shaped pattern course at an underwater depth of 80 to 150 meters (492 feet) for 59 hours and 12 minutes before detonation.
Pyongyang said that the underwater nuclear drone test verified the reliability, safety, and lethal strike capability of the nuclear drone, emphasizing the role of the nuclear drone is to create a super-powerful underwater explosion to destroy and eradicate fleets of enemy warships and main ports with a radioactive tsunami.
North Korea also tested strategic cruise missile units tipped with a simulated nuclear warhead. The cruise missiles -- two "Hwasal-1" type and two "Hwasal-2" type -- was launched from an area near Hamheung City some 250 kilometers northeast of Seoul on March 22 to hit the target set in the East Sea after flying 1,500-kilometer and 1,800-kilometer-long oval and 8-shaped pattern orbits for up to 9,129 seconds.
According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim was "greatly satisfied with the results of the major weapon test and the launching drill for a strategic purpose." Kim also criticized that the joint military drills conducted by Washington and Seoul imperil the regional situation and accelerate North Korea's nuclear armament capability.
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