Asia

North Korea claims test of AI-guided super-speed torpedo

KCNA names the Zam-2.0 system but gives no detail on its artificial intelligence, announcement lands weeks before a possible Trump-Kim meeting at the APEC summit

Images

The Korean Central News Agency said the weapon tested Thursday was a 'super-speed, precisely guided' torpedo system named Zam-2.0 (AP) The Korean Central News Agency said the weapon tested Thursday was a 'super-speed, precisely guided' torpedo system named Zam-2.0 (AP) independent.co.uk
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, front left, his wife and their daughter tour a new defense museum called National Defence Revolution Museum at an undisclosed location in North Korea, (AP) In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, front left, his wife and their daughter tour a new defense museum called National Defence Revolution Museum at an undisclosed location in North Korea, (AP) independent.co.uk
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the National Defense Revolution Museum of the Second Economic Committee, North Korea (Reuters) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the National Defense Revolution Museum of the Second Economic Committee, North Korea (Reuters) Reuters
North Korea says it tested new AI-powered torpedo system North Korea says it tested new AI-powered torpedo system euronews.com

North Korea's state news agency claimed on Saturday an underwater test of a new torpedo said to use artificial intelligence for target detection and guidance. The weapon, named Zam-2.0, was fired on Thursday after what KCNA described as more than 180 evaluations over five years, and was billed as "super-speed, precisely guided" — a success that officials said foresees a significant change for the navy.

What the report did not contain was any detail on the artificial intelligence. The claim's technical substance rests on the announcer alone, and South Korea's military, which regularly accuses the North of overstating its advances, offered no immediate comment. Analysts cited by Yonhap believe the weapon is a supercavitating torpedo, which forms an air bubble at its nose to overcome water resistance and travel faster than conventional projectiles. That class of weapon has stalled programs in more advanced countries: maintaining guidance and control at high underwater speeds is where such projects tend to die. Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, told the Korea Times the design appears aimed at the South Korean navy's major surface ships — hard to detect in advance, hard to evade.

The announcement caps a season of maritime claims. On Wednesday the North tested two types of underwater-launched strategic cruise missiles — its first underwater missile trials in almost three years — believed to have been fired from the submarine Pyongyang says is built to carry nuclear arms. Earlier this month Kim Yo Jong announced an AI-assisted launch of an intermediate-range hypersonic missile system. Kim Jong Un, meanwhile, has toured a new defence museum with his wife and daughter, described South Korea as a permanent enemy, and demanded that Washington drop denuclearisation as a precondition for talks.

Donald Trump said this week he "may" meet Kim during his November Asia tour, with a possible encounter at the APEC summit in China; the last round of that diplomacy collapsed in 2019. Thursday's test, KCNA said, proved the core propulsion technology. The artificial intelligence, so far, exists in the announcement.