North Korea tested nuclear weapons in response to the South Korea-US-Japan military exercise

Seoul [South Korea], January 19: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea conducted an underwater nuclear weapons system test to protest a new joint exercise by South Korea, the US and Japan, according to KCNA today, January 19.
According to Reuters citing information from KCNA, the test of the "Haeil-5-23" system, North Korea's name for underwater attack drones capable of carrying nuclear warheads , was carried out by an organization under the North Korean Ministry of National Defense off the country's east coast. KCNA did not mention the date the test took place.
"Our military's underwater nuclear countermeasures capabilities are being further refined, and the military's various underwater and maritime response actions will continue to deter military operations." hostility of the US navy and its allies," a spokesman for the North Korean Ministry of Defense emphasized in the statement, according to KCNA.
The South Korean and US navies and Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force held joint exercises from January 15-17, aiming to improve the three countries' ability to respond to "threats from North Korea", according to Reuters. Participating in the exercise was the US aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson .
Previously, KCNA reported on January 15 that North Korea successfully tested a supersonic medium-range ballistic missile (IRBM) using solid fuel on the afternoon of January 14. Accordingly, the launch aimed to test the "gliding and maneuvering characteristics" of the hypersonic warhead, as well as the "reliability" of the multi-stage high-thrust solid fuel engine that Pyongyang is developing.
That was Pyongyang's first public weapons test in 2024, not long after the launch of the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile on December 18, 2023. According to KCNA, the test is a routine activity and affirms that this has "never" affected the security of any neighboring country and is not related to the regional situation.
Yonhap news agency said that in a phone call on January 15, nuclear envoys from South Korea, the US and Japan condemned North Korea's move.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper