DPRK conducts another underwater strategic weapon system test

SEOUL - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) carried out another test of its newly-unveiled underwater strategic weapon system from Tuesday to Friday, the country's state news agency reported Saturday.

The underwater nuclear attack drone "Haeil-2" was deployed for test in Kajin Port of South Hamgyong Province Tuesday afternoon, and cruised 1,000 km of simulated underwater distance in the eastern waters for 71 hours and 6 minutes, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

The unmanned underwater attack vehicle arrived Friday afternoon in the target waters off Ryongdae Port of South Hamgyong Province where a test warhead was accurately detonated underwater, said the report.

The latest test came days after the DPRK conducted in late March a trial operation of "Haeil-1," an earlier version of the underwater nuclear attack drone.

The "Haeil-1" cruised 600 km of simulated underwater distance in the eastern waters for some 41 hours before detonating a test warhead underwater, according to a previous KCNA report.

The KCNA said in another previous report that the mission of the attack drone is to "stealthily infiltrate into operational waters and make a super-scale radioactive tsunami through underwater explosion to destroy naval striker groups and major operational ports of the enemy," and that it can be "deployed at any coast and port or towed by a surface ship for operation."