North Korea said on Friday it had tested a suspected submarine nuclear attack drone in response to a combined naval exercise between South Korea, the United States and Japan this week, as it continues to blame its rivals for raising tensions in the region.
The alleged drone test came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared that he would eliminate his country’s long-standing goal of peaceful unification with South Korea and that his country would rewrite its constitution to define South Korea. South as its most hostile foreign adversary.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have reached their highest point in years, with Kim accelerating his weapons testing activities and threatening a nuclear conflict.
The United States and its Asian allies have responded by strengthening their combined military exercises, which Kim calls invasion rehearsals.
North Korea’s suspected nuclear attack drone, which the North first tested last year, is among a wide range of weapons systems demonstrated in recent years as Kim expands his arsenal of nuclear-capable weapons.
A suspected North Korean submarine nuclear strategic strike weapon is fired in the water off the coast of Riwon County in East Korea Bay on March 24, 2023. KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images The USS Carl Vinson leads a fleet of U.S., South Korean ships and Japanese destroyers in international waters off the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula during a drill on Jan. 17, 2024. AP
South Korea’s military has insisted that the North has exaggerated the capabilities of the drone, which is supposedly designed to carry out attacks on enemy ships and ports.
The North Korean military said it conducted the test in the country’s eastern waters in response to the joint U.S.-South Korea-Japan naval exercise, which ended Wednesday in waters south of Jeju Island.
“Our military’s submarine nuclear weapons-based counterattack posture is being further rounded out and its various maritime and underwater response actions will continue to deter hostile military maneuvers by the navies of the United States and its allies,” the Defense Ministry said. North in a statement.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared he would abandon his country’s long-standing goal of peaceful unification with South Korea. REUTERS The United States and its Asian allies have responded by stepping up their combined military exercises, which Kim calls rehearsals for an invasion. ZUMAPRESS.com
“We strongly denounce the United States and its supporters for their reckless acts of seriously threatening the security of the DPRK since the beginning of the year and sternly warn them of the catastrophic consequences that will entail,” he said, using North Korea’s initials. Formal name of Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
In recent months, the North has also tested several missile systems designed to attack the United States and its Asian allies, and announced a progressive nuclear doctrine that authorizes the military to conduct preemptive nuclear strikes if Pyongyang’s leadership is under threat.
North Korea carried out its first ballistic missile test of 2024 on Sunday, which state media described as a new solid-fuel, intermediate-range missile with a hypersonic warhead, likely intended to target US military bases in Guam and Japan.
A combination of North Korean government photographs shows the country testing a strategic underwater weapons system between April 4 and 7, 2023. KNCA
At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday, South Korea called on the council to “break the silence” over North Korea’s increasing missile tests and threats.
Permanent council members Russia and China have blocked U.S.-led efforts to increase sanctions on Pyongyang over its recent testing activity, underscoring a division deepened by Russia’s war against Ukraine. South Korea serves a two-year term on the council.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn