North Korea reports test of torpedo using artificial intelligence

North Korea tested a torpedo underwater on Thursday at an undisclosed location, saying the weapon used artificial intelligence to find targets and guide its course, according to accounts of state media reporting published on October 17. The trial was intended to check technical changes to the weapon.¹²⁵

Targeting claims without technical evidence

The Korean Central News Agency described a high-speed, precision-guided weapon incorporating AI into both detection and guidance. Aju Press identified the system as Zam-2.0. NK News attributed the trial to three bodies: the Torpedo Weapons Research Bureau, the Missile Administration and the Academy of Defence Science.¹²⁵

The announcement did not explain the technology behind those claims. Aju Press reported that KCNA supplied neither technical details nor evidence to support its account of the AI functions. The agency also withheld the torpedo's range, speed, operational capabilities and the location of the underwater test.²

How much of the weapon's operation depends on artificial intelligence, and how well those functions perform, remains unclear, according to Aju Press. North Korean defence officials nevertheless described the trial as successful and as an advance for naval development, Yonhap reported.¹²

Propulsion work also tested

The South China Morning Post and Aju Press said the trial also evaluated a propulsion system refined during more than 180 tests carried out in the previous five years. State media said it demonstrated technology intended to improve propulsion efficiency and the performance of rocket-propulsion devices.¹²⁴

Experts cited by Yonhap suggested the weapon could be a supercavitating torpedo. That assessment was presented as a possibility. Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, assessed the launch as a display of an AI-driven weapon intended to target the South Korean Navy's large surface ships.¹

A wider naval programme

Yonhap reported that North Korea was developing torpedoes for use aboard submarines as its submarine capabilities expanded. The effort was intended to narrow the military capability gap between North Korea and the South Korean Navy, according to Korea Defense and Security Forum secretary-general Shin Jong-woo.¹

The torpedo announcement accompanies other reported naval developments. North Korea said it had fired two kinds of cruise missile from a submarine, according to The Japan Times. Yonhap said the missiles were apparently launched from a submarine displacing 3,000 tons and reported that two 5,000-ton destroyers, Kang Kon and Choe Hyon, had also entered service.¹³