In recent days, North Korea has repeatedly launched some kind of missile, but the South Korean and US militaries have only been able to get very vague and general information about it. Cruise missiles were reportedly launched, as well as short-range ballistic missiles. About the specific types, as well as what exactly was tested, it was difficult to say anything definitive.
In this regard, the main source of information was the official DPRK media themselves, which accompanied everything not only with detailed details of the launch with technical characteristics, but also with very colorful photos and sometimes video materials. It is true that the statement made by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday, March 24, made the DPRK’s potential opponents think hard.
The KCNA reported that between March 21 and 23, North Korea tested an “unmanned nuclear submarine attack ship.” The task of this “secret weapon” was to “swim underwater covertly, produce a super-powerful radioactive tsunami by underwater explosion to destroy and destroy groups of enemy ships and ports,” the TsTAK said in Russian.
The technical details are also very amazing. It turned out that this “underwater nuclear drone” was launched into the sea on March 21 in the region of South Hamgyong Province, after which it swam underwater for nearly two and a half days, 59 hours, “moving with a change course constant at a depth of 80-150 m. On the evening of March 23, the device, having completely confused the tracks of a potential enemy, “hit its target in the waters of Hongwon Bay, which mimicked the enemy’s harbor, and its test warhead was detonated under Water”. This underwater drone, as reported, can be equipped with a nuclear warhead, the detonation of which causes the promised “destructive radioactive tsunami.” The name of the new weapon also turned out to be characteristic – “Heil”, which in Korean means simply “tsunami”. It was alleged that the DPRK has been developing this weapon in deep secrecy since 2012, and Kim Jong-un personally attended various testing stages more than two dozen times.
In addition, on March 22, North Korea launched four Hwasal-1 and Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missiles “with experimental warheads that simulate a nuclear charge.” They flew a distance of 1,500 to 1,800 km over the East Sea (Japan) and hit conditional targets accurately. One of the missiles was detonated at a height of 600 m to “test the reliability of nuclear explosion control systems and imitation devices” of a nuclear warhead.
As already mentioned, all this unpleasantly surprised South Korea and the United States, which these days are conducting various military exercises one after another. The DPRK, however, made it clear that with its tests it “responds” to all these maneuvers, during which options for attacks against the DPRK, as well as offensive actions, are also being worked out.
South Korean “hot pursuit” experts admitted that the DPRK is demonstrating the ability to bypass all possible missile defense systems, as well as the ability to strike suddenly, from a variety of environments: from land, water, underwater, from underground. , from mobile installations, from mines, from submarines and even from armored trains. At the same time, launches were also carried out in such a way that the possibility of detonating charges in different environments was demonstrated – by direct contact with the target, in the depths of the water and at a certain height – the latter significantly increases the number of casualties and destruction.
The southerners were very impressed with the underwater “drone”, which was immediately compared with the Russian “Poseidon”. “Of course, the Russian system is much larger, more powerful and, as the Russian Federation claims, has a nuclear power plant, while the North Korean one imagines a much smaller system, but similar in principle of operation: it can move covertly. . under water for a long time and deal a big hit … If the DPRK tests went as stated, then it is worth recognizing that such systems are extremely difficult or almost impossible to detect. They don’t need to directly hit a ship or other target, but it’s enough to explode underwater somewhere nearby. The warhead will destroy the entire area and it is possible that there will be huge waves with increased radioactivity,” said Moon Geun-sik, a professor at Gyeonggi University.
However, other experts point out that the DPRK is consistently meeting what it adopted as the five major development tasks in the field of armaments following the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea in January 2021. Then, remember, five areas The main weapons were announced: hypersonic weapons, very high-yield nuclear warheads, missiles with a range of up to 15,000 km, submarine and land-based solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarines.
At the time of the announcement in early 2021, these targets were perceived abroad in many ways as bogus and unrealistic plans, but North Korea is now recognized as keeping its word. “Only a little more than two years have passed since Kim Jong-un’s declaration at the party congress in January 2021 on the need to achieve five major objectives in the field of weapons, and great progress is already evident in many of them,” said the South. Korean news agency Yonhap claims. According to the agency’s journalists, hypersonic weapons are “almost ready”, tests are underway in terms of solid-propellant submarine and land-based ICBMs and serious achievements are evident, ICBMs with a range of up to 15,000 km more than once. It is only noted that so far nothing has been shown only for nuclear submarines and heavy duty nuclear warheads. However, the DPRK has almost three more years to fulfill its promises, and judging by the pace and successes, now all this does not seem like a fantastic goal, but quite real.
For their part, South Korea and US troops stationed on its soil are also trying to “keep up.” Seoul is implementing an active army modernization program, there are new developments in terms of missile defense systems, missile strike forces, communications systems, intelligence, the latest fifth-generation combat aircraft are being purchased from the United States, submarines and destroyers are being bought. being built. US strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons, as well as aircraft carriers, have already become frequent guests in South Korea. Thus, in the coming days, the US Navy’s nuclear aircraft carrier Nimitz, which is the largest in the world for this class of ships, will arrive at the port of Busan. In addition, the United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan are working to create a full trilateral military alliance in the region. At the same time, Seoul demonstrates a very militant attitude. Today, the President of the Republic of Korea, Yoon Seok-yeol, said that North Korea “will pay dearly for the slightest provocation.”
Direct speech
We asked Vladimir Khrustalev, a well-known North Korean military expert, to comment on the capabilities of North Korea’s declared “secret weapon” today: the “Heil” unmanned nuclear attack ship.
What are the general impressions of this “underwater drone” from the DPRK?
Vladimir Khrustalev: According to what is officially stated, this is some kind of uninhabited torpedo-shaped autonomous underwater vehicle with a nuclear or thermonuclear warhead, in fact, an ultra-long torpedo drone.
What are the analogues in other countries?
Vladimir Khrustalev: This, apparently, is something between our Poseidon, conventional nuclear torpedoes, and the now popular high-endurance underwater drones.
How effective are they as means of destruction, what are their advantages?
Vladimir Khrustalev: Among the advantages of such a system, one should note the great difficulties in combating it in real conditions. It is small, quiet and not in a hurry. It is difficult to guarantee protection against it. Now, in any case, the enemy planners will have to divert part of the fleet forces towards this danger, regardless of whether Pyongyang actually prepares them for use.
The world media were impressed by the turnover of the “radioactive tsunami”, which was used by North Korean publications to characterize the possible consequences. How realistic is this?
Vladimir Khrustalev: Regarding the concept of “radioactive tsunami”, it must be remembered that the generation of this type of phenomenon in large areas presents a series of physical difficulties. But a nuclear charge of 20-40 kilotons, which exploded in the water area of the port near the coast, is really enough to create huge radioactive waves from boiling water, enough to reliably destroy ships and port infrastructure. within a radius of several kilometers from the epicenter. Nor should we forget about the very high levels of radiation in the first hours after the explosion. Surely this is enough to completely disable a large trading port or naval base.
How does the presence of this type of weapon change the overall balance of power?
Vladimir Khrustalev: The appearance of these weapons should be included in the general context of the development of the naval component of the DPRK’s nuclear potential. It complements the already known systems for submarine-launched ballistic missiles without submarines, ballistic missile submarines under development (including plans for the creation of nuclear missile carriers by the DPRK), as well as strategic submarine-launched cruise missiles from torpedo tubes . The latter, given the size of the DPRK’s submarine fleet, means a potentially rapid increase in the number of rigs covering all of Northeast Asia.
