(LEAD) N. Korea tests new torpedo, eyes early 2027 deployment

우재연

2026-11-10 11:18:08

(LEAD) N Korea-weapons test
This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 15, 2026, shows the North firing two types of strategic cruise missiles from a submarine the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(ATTN: ADDS photo, more details, official's comments in paras 4-6)

SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has test-fired a new type of torpedo in the East Sea, state media reported Tuesday, saying it plans to deploy the system with its Navy in early 2027.

The Academy of Defense Sciences, the Missile Administration and the Torpedo Weapon Research Bureau "verified the combat effectiveness" of the new high-speed torpedo system Monday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The test was part of the "obligatory activities" of the defense research institutes to put weapons technology "on a highly-developed basis," it added.

The North gave no further details of the torpedo's specifications but said the test confirmed "the core technology for raising the efficiency of propulsion and the performance of rocket propulsion device," which it said was perfected through "more than 180 rounds of different tests over the past five years."

A unification ministry official told reporters Tuesday the test appears aimed at "showing off its strengthened naval power and improved underwater weapons systems that the North has been emphasizing lately."

Since Pyongyang's state media offered neither specifications nor photos, the official said more analysis is needed to learn about the new torpedo.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) gives a salute toward the country's first 5,000-ton multipurpose destroyer, named the Choe Hyon, as it sails from a dockyard in the western coastal city of Nampho, in this file photo from June 23, 2026, during a ceremony to mark its commissioning, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

Pyongyang has been pushing to strengthen its naval capabilities with a string of weapons tests.

Last month, it conducted an underwater test of a new high-speed, precision-guided torpedo that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology, calling it a "significant" change in its naval capabilities. It also fired two types of strategic cruise missiles from what was presumed to be a 3,000-ton submarine in the East Sea.

In June, it commissioned the 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer in the Yellow Sea, followed by the 5,000-ton Kang Kon destroyer in the East Sea in September.

At the Choe Hyon's commissioning ceremony in June, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the Navy "is rising into a full-fledged service equipped with strategic means as the program of equipping the Navy with nuclear weapons is following its planned course unerringly."

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