North Korea Tests AI-Powered Torpedo System as Naval Capabilities Expand

North Korea Unveils AI-Assisted Torpedo System After Five Years of Development

North Korea announced Saturday that it successfully tested a new torpedo system with artificial intelligence capabilities for target detection and guidance1

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. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) identified the weapon as the "super-speed, precisely guided" Zam-2.0 torpedo system, tested Thursday to confirm successful technical updates3

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. The test verified propulsion systems developed through more than 180 rounds of different tests over the past five years5

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. However, KCNA did not explain what was meant by artificial intelligence in the context of this weapons system2

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Understanding the AI Technology Claims and Strategic Implications

The stated introduction of artificial intelligence could allow North Korea to carry out evasive manoeuvres and make autonomous decisions to confuse an adversary, according to analysts3

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. Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University, explained that "South Korea and the United States deploy decoy targets to divert torpedoes, but AI could potentially help distinguish real targets from decoys." He added that "from torpedoes to submarine-launched weapons, Pyongyang is pouring resources into demonstrating that US strategic assets can be rendered ineffective"5

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. Yet some experts remain skeptical. While North Korea is likely improving its guidance software, it's doubtful that the country's weapons truly have advanced digital capabilities such as autonomous target designation4

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. South Korea's military, which often accuses the North of exaggerating its military technologies, did not immediately comment on KCNA's report1

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Kim Jong Un's Shift Toward Naval Capabilities and Weapons Demonstrations

North Korea has been ramping up military demonstrations in recent weeks as leader Kim Jong Un shifts his focus to naval capabilities after years of ballistic missile development2

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. The country conducted its first underwater-launched missile tests in nearly three years on Wednesday, likely involving a yet-to-be-deployed submarine that Pyongyang has said is designed to launch nuclear weapons1

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. North Korea also tested hypersonic missile systems of various ranges on September 20 and October 3 as it seeks to expand its arsenal of weapons designed to overwhelm missile defenses in South Korea and Japan4

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. Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of Kim Jong Un, claimed that the missiles tested on October 3 also used artificial intelligence technology1

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. In September, Kim Jong Un emphasized the need to raise "the level of artificial intelligence" in the country's weapons systems3

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Intensifying Arms Race on the Korean Peninsula

The announcement came as the two Koreas appear to be intensifying an arms race over hypersonic missiles5

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. Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them significantly harder to track and intercept3

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. Days after North Korea announced it had tested its AI-assisted intermediate-range hypersonic missile, Seoul test-fired its own weapon—a hypersonic glide vehicle it called a "key strategic asset capable of changing the course of the battlefield"5

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. North Korea this week cast doubt on Seoul's test, saying it may have "failed to achieve hypersonic flight," a claim South Korea rejected a day later3

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. Analysts say North Korea could be rapidly advancing its missile and weapons technology with support from Russia received in exchange for sending troops to support its war against Ukraine3

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Technical Challenges and Future Outlook

Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, noted that North Korea may need more time to advance its torpedo system, particularly in reducing the noise it generates underwater5

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. "At high speeds underwater, a torpedo generates significant noise, making it easier to detect," Yang explained. "Reducing that noise is a major technical challenge requiring advanced technology—and North Korea does not yet appear to have reached that level"3

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. Ahead of a possible North Korea-US summit, Pyongyang appears to be "playing down South Korea's hypersonic missile programme to portray itself as ahead of Seoul—Washington's ally—in the arms race," Yang added5

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. Kim Jong Un in recent years has halted all diplomacy and cooperation with South Korea and described it as a permanent enemy, as a yearslong stalemate in nuclear negotiations with Washington drags on4

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. Watch how North Korea continues to position its AI-enhanced weapons systems and whether technical capabilities match the rhetoric as tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalate.