North Korean officials on Saturday revealed they have successfully tested a second type of nuclear-capable underwater attack drone developed to wipe out naval vessels and level ports.
The “Haeil-2″ drone — named after the Korean word meaning “tsunamis” or “tidal waves” — traveled underwater for more than 71 hours before exploding a mock warhead in waters near the eastern port city of Tanchon on Friday, according to the country’s Korean Central News Agency.
The successful four-day trial run confirmed the weapon could hit targets more than 600 miles away with “fatal attack ability,” the state-run outlet added.
“The system will serve as an advantageous and prospective military potential of the armed forces of the [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea]” the KCNA said, per the Korea News Herald.
The test came just two weeks after North Korea reported two tests of another drone, named “Haeil-1,” designed to trigger a devastating “radioactive tsunami” that will plunge the U.S. and South Korea “into despair.” Most experts have since expressed skepticism over the drones’ power and capabilities.
The completed test also came on the same day that nuclear envoys for the United States, South Korea and Japan sat down together in Seoul to discuss the ever-increasing threat of North Korea’s evolving nuclear initiative.
In a joint statement, all three officials demanded stronger international efforts to crack down on illicit North Korean activities funding its weapons program. They called for greater support of efforts to ban North Korean workers from being sent abroad and to curb the country’s cybercrimes.
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