(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) North Korea officially announced on Saturday that it had tested a new AI precision-guided torpedo system for target detection and guidance. This de facto nuclear-armed country continues to accelerate the pace of weapons testing.
The news comes days after Pyongyang announced it had test-fired two cruise missiles from a submarine. In the past few weeks, landmine explosions occurred in the border areas between North and South Korea, causing tensions between the North and the South.
Analysts believe that North Korea’s missile and weapons technology may be advancing rapidly, and part of the technical support it receives may be related to Pyongyang sending soldiers to participate in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the "Zam-2.0" torpedo system, known as "super-speed" (super-speed), conducted an underwater test launch on Thursday to "confirm the success of the weapon technology upgrade" and revealed that this new super-speed precision-guided torpedo applies artificial intelligence technology in target detection and guidance functions.
The report said that the test verified "core technologies that improve propulsion efficiency and rocket propulsion device performance," adding that the project has completed more than 180 different types of tests in the past five years.
Earlier this month, North Korea also announced it had successfully test-fired a medium-range hypersonic missile using artificial intelligence-assisted technology.
Pyongyang said at the time that the hypersonic missile "cannot be intercepted and evaded" and "can change its flight trajectory at low altitudes."
Torpedoes are weapons that strike underwater enemy targets at high speed. Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University in South Korea, pointed out in an analysis by AFP: "South Korea and the United States will deploy decoy targets to interfere with torpedoes, but artificial intelligence may help torpedoes distinguish real targets from decoy targets."
He added: "From torpedoes to submarine-launched weapons, Pyongyang is investing resources to prove that U.S. strategic assets can be weakened or even rendered useless."
In September this year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un emphasized the need to improve the "artificial intelligence level" in the country's weapons systems.
A new round of arms race on the Korean Peninsula
Pyongyang announced the results of its new torpedo test at a time when the arms race between North and South Korea over hypersonic missiles seems to be continuing to heat up.
The latest round of weapons tests by the North and the South comes at a time when speculation is rising about a possible meeting between US President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. As leaders prepare for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in China in November, relevant discussions have attracted increasing attention.
Trump has repeatedly sent dialogue signals to Pyongyang, but received no response. Trump again said this week that he would "possibly" meet Kim during a trip to Asia next month.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at South Korea's University of North Korean Studies, believes that North Korea seems to be trying to "create the image of itself as being ahead of South Korea, a U.S. ally, in this arms race."
However, he pointed out that it may still take more time for North Korea's torpedo system to truly mature, especially as it still faces technical challenges in reducing underwater noise.
