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| President Yoon Suk Yeol gives a speech during a ceremony marking the West Sea Defense Day, at the Daejeon National Cemetery, Friday. Yonhap |
Pyongyang claims test of 'underwater nuclear attack drone'
By Lee Hyo-jin
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday warned that his administration will make North Korea "pay the price for its reckless provocations" and vowed to strengthen South Korea's military capabilities in response to the North's evolving nuclear threats.
Yoon's strong rhetoric, which came hours after Pyongyang unveiled what it called an underwater nuclear attack drone, implies that Seoul will stick to its hawkish stance toward the reclusive regime's increasing belligerence and threats.
"North Korea has been advancing its nuclear weapons while pushing ahead with missile provocations at an unprecedented level," the president said in his speech during a ceremony marking the eighth West Sea Defense Day, at Daejeon National Cemetery.
"Our government and military will drastically strengthen the South Korean-style three-axis system and solidify security cooperation between South Korea and the United States, as well as among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, in response to North Korea's evolving nuclear threats," he said, stressing that he will make Pyongyang pay the price for its reckless provocations.
The three-axis defense system refers to Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR), an operational plan to incapacitate the North Korean leadership in a major conflict, the Kill Chain pre-emptive strike platform and the Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system.
The West Sea Defense Day, which falls on the fourth Friday of March every year, was established in 2016 to commemorate 55 servicemen who died while defending the West Sea in three North Korean military provocations in 2002 and 2010.
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| President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee pay tribute at the tomb of one of 46 South Korean sailors killed in the 2010 sinking of the South Korean Navy warship Cheonan by North Korea ahead of the ceremony marking the eighth West Sea Defense Day at Daejeon National Cemetery, Friday. Yonhap |
Yoon, who got emotional during his speech, held back tears as he did a roll call of the 55 servicemen.
"Without remembering and paying tribute to those who sacrificed themselves for the nation, there is no future for the country," he said. Ahead of the ceremony, Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee paid tribute to the fallen sailors at their graves.
Yoon's hardline approach to North Korea highlighted in his speech is in stark contrast with his predecessor Moon Jae-in, who had sought inter-Korean rapprochement through dialogue. During his term, Moon did not attend three out of five West Sea Defense Day ceremonies.
As a part of the incumbent government's move to bolster military capabilities, South Korean and the U.S. forces recently conducted a major joint drill called Freedom Shield on a scale not seen since 2017. The drills lasted for 11 straight days from March 13 through Thursday.
On the last day of the exercises, the military held live-fire drills in Pocheon in northern Gyeonggi Province, some 30 kilometers south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas.
North Korea, which viewed the scaled-up drills as "a rehearsal for invasion," has been staging protests through a series of weapons tests.
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| A photo released by North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency, Friday, shows the testing of an "underwater nuclear attack drone" detonating after it was launched off the coast of Riwon, South Hamgyong Province. Yonhap |
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang's official mouthpiece, reported on Friday that the regime has tested a new underwater attack drone capable of carrying an atomic warhead.
According to the report, the drone was deployed off the coast of Riwon, South Hamgyong Province on Tuesday and cruised in the waters for over 59 hours before its test warhead was detonated on Thursday afternoon.
North Korea claimed that the newly disclosed nuclear weapon, named "Haeil," is capable of causing a "radioactive tsunami" on enemy coasts. It explained that the military has been developing the weapon since 2012 and has undergone some 50 tests in the past couple of years.
Defense analysts commented that the latest weapon could be an attempt to replicate Russia's nuclear-armed Poseidon torpedo, although the North's claim about its weapons capability could be exaggerated.
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