In response to joint naval exercises by South Korea, the United States (USA) and Japan, North Korea announced that it had tested a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone. As stated in the North Korean Official State Media (KCNA), Pyongyang carried out this test at a time when it “seriously threatened” the national security of the United States and its allies and “destabilized the regional situation.”[i]
In a statement published on January 19, 2024, the North Korean Ministry of Defense said, “Our military is further strengthening underwater nuclear-based countermeasures, and various naval and underwater reactive actions will continue to deter hostile maneuvers by the US and allied navies.” The ministry also warned of “catastrophic consequences” for the US and its “followers”.[ii]
Claiming that it tested this weapon twice in 2023, North Korea praised its ability to launch sudden attacks on its enemies with the “radioactive tsunami” created by the underwater explosion of this weapon. The weapon’s operation has not been independently verified, and South Korean officials have said its capabilities are exaggerated.[iii]
There are doubts about the technological capacity and claims of the underwater weapon in question. South Korean officials have stated that the weapon’s capabilities are exaggerated and have not been independently verified. It can be argued that Seoul uses this discourse to avoid creating uneasiness both among its people and its regional allies. As a matter of fact, South Korea may be aiming to give the message that it is in control both regionally and at the tension with Pyongyang.
As a matter of fact, it can be said that these weapons tests were aimed at sending a political message rather than posing a military threat. Because with the tests in question, Pyongyang increases the ongoing diplomatic tensions in the region, shows that it is not afraid of these tensions and will not step back, and at the same time reveals its intention to develop its nuclear program. Because these experiments are also used as a strategic tool to shape regional balances of power and direct relations with the international community. At the same time, it can be said that this action deeply affected the security dynamics in the region.
Washington, Seoul and Tokyo held joint naval exercises with nine warships, including the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, in the regional seas. It can be said that the exercises in question stem from threats originating from North Korea and nuclear missile tests. As a matter of fact, South Korea and Japan are among the states that feel the threats originating from North Korea most closely, geopolitically. This situation pushes Tokyo and Seoul into the Western camp and causes them to develop strong dialogues with Washington. It can be said that North Korea’s testing of the underwater nuclear-capable attack unmanned aerial vehicle called Haeil-5-23 emerged as a reaction to the increasing diplomatic tension in the region and the joint naval exercises of the USA, South Korea and Japan.
Moreover, international reactions to North Korea’s underwater nuclear-capable weapons test could further escalate tensions in the region and raise security concerns among various countries.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen in recent months, with Pyongyang’s repeated weapons tests and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un declaring South Korea an enemy. Moreover, the joint exercises of the USA, South Korea and Japan and the recent missile tests of North Korea complicate efforts for a diplomatic solution and threaten regional stability.
It will be important at this point for the international community to increase its efforts to ensure regional security and find solutions to North Korea’s nuclear program. Diplomatic negotiations and international cooperation are critical to resolving such security challenges. However, it is a question mark to what extent Pyongyang will be open to and respond to calls for dialogue, negotiation and diplomacy. Because any action of the Western Bloc provokes North Korea even more and makes it harder.
In this situation, the Western Bloc, especially the USA, South Korea and Japan, are in a paradox. The measures taken with both soft and hard power tools against North Korea’s threatening moves create a provocative conjuncture rather than a deterrent or retreat effect on Pyongyang.
In this context, it can be argued that North Korea and the threat it poses actually create a legitimate basis for the presence of the US-based Western Bloc in the Asia-Pacific and provide a cyclical advantage to the West. As a matter of fact, the USA legitimizes the military exercises it organizes within the framework of the cooperation it creates with its military, political and economic influence in the region, through the “North Korean threat” discourse, and does not attract much reaction from the international community. Because it can be argued that the main goal of the USA and the West in general is to surround China and increase its influence in these regions. In this context, US-based organizations such as ANZUS, AUKUS and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) play a very functional role for the West. As a result, the tension in the Korean Peninsula creates a very remarkable situation in terms of both Asia-Pacific and global geopolitics. Where the tension in question will lead will fundamentally depend on the consequences that the Western Bloc’s reactions to North Korea’s actions will have on Pyongyang.
[i] “North Korea Touts ‘Underwater Nuclear Weapons System’, Blasts US Drills”, Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/19/north-korea-touts-underwater-nuclear-weapon-system-blasts-us-drills, (Date of Accession: 23.01.2024).
[ii] Ibıd.
[iii] Ibıd.
