North Korea claims to have tested ‘underwater nuclear weapon system’

New provocation from North Korea. According to state news agency KCNA, this Friday Pyongyang announced that it had tested an “underwater nuclear weapon system” in response to joint naval exercises held by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.

The exercise, conducted earlier this week, “seriously threatens the security” of North Korea, North Korea’s defense ministry said in a statement, as quoted by KCNA.

In response, Pyongyang “conducted significant testing of the developing Haeil-5-23 undersea nuclear weapon system in the East Korean Sea,” the ministry added, referring to the area also known as the “Sea of ​​Korea.” Japan.

Earlier this week, South Korea, the United States and Japan held joint naval exercises south of Jeju Island, saying they did so in response to Pyongyang’s launch of a ballistic missile on Sunday. Nine ships from three countries took part in the exercises, including the American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.

‘Serious security threat’ to the North

The maneuvers “represented the cause of further destabilization of the regional situation,” Pyongyang said on Friday, calling them a “serious threat to the security” of the North, a ministry spokesman added, KCNA reported.

The tests announced Friday – for which no exact date was given – “further strengthen the counter-attack system for nuclear-armed submarines,” the spokesman added.

Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile on Sunday, days after an artillery exercise with live ammunition, amid concerns about a hardening North Korean stance, Seoul said.

In early January, North Korea conducted live artillery exercises on its west coast, close to the South Korean islands where civilians were urged to take refuge.