Russia to Complete Infrastructure for Poseidon Torpedo Carriers in 2024

File photo: The first Poseidon ammunition loads have been manufactured, and the Belgorod submarine will receive them in the near future (AFP)
File photo: The first Poseidon ammunition loads have been manufactured, and the Belgorod submarine will receive them in the near future (AFP)
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Russia to Complete Infrastructure for Poseidon Torpedo Carriers in 2024

File photo: The first Poseidon ammunition loads have been manufactured, and the Belgorod submarine will receive them in the near future (AFP)
File photo: The first Poseidon ammunition loads have been manufactured, and the Belgorod submarine will receive them in the near future (AFP)

Russia plans to complete in early 2024 the construction of its coastal infrastructure in the Pacific Ocean for basing nuclear submarines that will carry the Poseidon nuclear capable super torpedoes, TASS news agency reported on Monday.

Russia said in January that it had produced the first set of the Poseidon torpedoes, four years after President Vladimir Putin announced the fundamentally new type of strategic nuclear weapon, confirming it would have its own nuclear power supply, Reuters said.

There are few confirmed details about the Poseidon in the public domain, but it is essentially a cross between a torpedo and a drone which can be launched from a nuclear submarine.

The torpedoes are being developed for deployment on the Belgorod and Khabarovsk nuclear submarines, TASS reported.

"Work on the construction of coastal infrastructure facilities for basing two special submarines in Kamchatka is planned to be completed early next year," TASS cited an unidentified defence source as saying.

Russia Pacific Fleet's ballistic nuclear missile submarine base is located on the southeastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, in the Russian Far East.

The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the Kamchatka Peninsula's eastern and western coastlines.

The source told the TASS state agency that a new division is being formed as part of the Submarine Forces of the Pacific Fleet, which will include not only Belgorod and Khabarovsk but also other submarines.

The new special-purpose submarines will participate in solving the tasks "of strategic deterrence", the source said.

Russia's major upgrade of the nuclear base comes amid rising US-China tensions over influence in the Western Pacific.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that Moscow is not creating a military alliance with Beijing, but both he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged closer ties, including in the military sphere, during their meeting last week.



South Korean Prosecutors Seek Drone Chief's Arrest over Operation in North

A South Korean flag covers a ceremonial guard member prior to the arrival of South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in at the White House in Washington, US, April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/Files
A South Korean flag covers a ceremonial guard member prior to the arrival of South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in at the White House in Washington, US, April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/Files
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South Korean Prosecutors Seek Drone Chief's Arrest over Operation in North

A South Korean flag covers a ceremonial guard member prior to the arrival of South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in at the White House in Washington, US, April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/Files
A South Korean flag covers a ceremonial guard member prior to the arrival of South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in at the White House in Washington, US, April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/Files

South Korean prosecutors said on Sunday they had sought court approval to detain the head of a military drone unit as part of an investigation into former President Yoon Suk Yeol and drone operations in neighboring North Korea.

Prosecutors stepped up a probe into the drone operation after indicting the jailed ex-President Yoon on Saturday on additional charges for his short-lived declaration of martial law in December.

They had summoned the unit's chief, Kim Yong-dae, on Thursday regarding accusations that Yoon ordered a covert drone operation into the North last year to inflame tension between the neighbors to justify his martial law decree, Reuters reported.

Yoon has denied the accusations.

Kim told reporters the incident was part of a "clandestine military operation" in response to trash balloons sent from the North and not intended to provoke the neighboring nation.

In October, North Korea said the South had sent drones to scatter anti-North Korea leaflets over Pyongyang, and published photos of the remains of a crashed South Korean military drone.

South Korea at the time declined to disclose whether it had sent the drones.

In a statement on Sunday, the prosecution office said it had sought an arrest warrant for Kim. Media said a court hearing is planned for Monday afternoon to review the request for a warrant.

He was arrested on Friday without a court warrant, media said. Prosecutors and police are permitted to make an "emergency arrest" if they have a strong belief someone is guilty of a serious crime and may flee or destroy evidence.