Pyongyang: North Korea said on October 17 that it had tested a new precision guided torpedo using artificial intelligence for target detection and guidance, adding to a series of recent weapons announcements.
The state run Korean Central News Agency said the underwater test of the “super speed” Zam 2.0 system took place on October 15 to assess technical improvements.
KCNA said the test demonstrated advances in propulsion efficiency and rocket propulsion technology, following more than 180 tests over five years. These performance claims were attributed to North Korean state media.
Torpedoes travel underwater to strike maritime targets. Lim Eul chul, a professor at South Korea’s Kyungnam University, told AFP that AI could potentially help them distinguish actual targets from decoys deployed by South Korean and US forces.
However, Yang Moo jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said reducing underwater noise remained a significant challenge. A fast moving torpedo generates noise that can make it easier to detect, he said, questioning whether Pyongyang had developed the technology needed to address that problem.
The announcement followed North Korea’s reported launch of two types of cruise missiles from a submarine and an earlier test of an AI assisted intermediate range hypersonic missile.
South Korea subsequently tested a hypersonic glide vehicle. Pyongyang questioned whether it had achieved hypersonic flight, an allegation Seoul rejected.
The tests come amid speculation about a possible meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during Trump’s Asia tour next month. Trump said this week that he “may” meet Kim, but no meeting has been confirmed.
World leaders are preparing to attend November’s APEC summit in China, providing the diplomatic backdrop to the latest weapons demonstrations.
