New provocation from North Korea.
Pyongyang announced this Friday that it had tested an “undersea nuclear weapons system” in response to joint naval exercises carried out by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo, according to the state agency KCNA.
These exercises, carried out earlier this week, “seriously threatened the security” of North Korea, the North Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement cited by KCNA.
In response, Pyongyang "conducted a significant test of its developing Haeil-5-23 submarine nuclear weapons system in the East Sea of Korea," the ministry added, referring to an area also known as the name of the sea of Japan.
Also read: North Korea: are the shelling near its southern neighbor more than a “fever”?
Earlier this week, South Korea, the United States and Japan conducted joint naval military exercises south of Jeju Island, saying they did so in response to Pyongyang's launch of a ballistic missile on Sunday. .
The exercises involved nine ships from the three countries, including the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.
“Serious threat to security” of the North
These maneuvers "constituted a cause of further destabilization of the regional situation", Pyongyang declared on Friday, calling them a "serious threat to the security" of the North, added the ministry spokesperson, according to KCNA.
The test announced Friday - the exact date of which was not specified - allows "our army's nuclear-weapon-based submarine counter-attack system to be further strengthened", added the spokesperson.
Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile on Sunday, according to Seoul, a few days after live ammunition artillery exercises, amid concerns about a hardening of the North Korean position.
VIDEO.
North Korea fires 200 artillery shells, Seoul orders evacuation of civilians on one of its islands
In early January, North Korea carried out artillery exercises with live ammunition on its western coast, near South Korean islands where the civilian population was called to take shelter.