North Korea may be training dolphins for military purposes, experts say

Secretive state would join US and Russia as only countries known to train marine mammals such uses

North Korea may be training dolphins to conduct military operations, according to experts.

The United States Naval Institute, which has close links with the US Navy, said satellite imagery of the secretive totalitarian state appeared to show animal pens in water off the west coast port city of Nampo.

Another potential site was recorded further up a river on the outskirts of Nampo, which may be where the dolphins are bred.

According to the intelligence, the USNI said, any such dolphin-training programme would date back to 2015 as part of leader Kim Jong-un’s attempted modernisation of North Korea’s navy.

The USNI cautioned the pens could be a fish farm, but that an analysis suggests their design is inconsistent with other farms recorded in the country.

If confirmed, North Korea would join the US and Russia as the only countries known to be engaged in the training of marine mammals for purposes of warfare.

Russia uses seals, dolphins and beluga whales, while the US, which pioneered such animal-training programmes, has used dolphins and sea lions in missions.

However, the US Navy is now turning to a wider array of sea life in its attempt to monitor rivals in the world’s oceans.

The Persistent Aquatic Living Sensors (PALS), launched in 2018, will monitor life forms including fish, shrimp and genetically engineered plants, which are all able to use their sensory abilities to detect signals in water that could help the US track enemies.

“If we can tap into the innate sensing capabilities of living organisms that are ubiquitous in the oceans, we can extend our ability to track adversary activity and do so discreetly, on a persistent basis, and with enough precision to characterise the size and type of adversary vehicles,” said programme manager Dr Lori Adornato at the initiative’s launch.

Last year, an unusually friendly beluga whale in waters off Norway’s most northerly county sparked international headlines when it was discovered swimming in a harness. 

Experts speculated it originated from a base belonging to the Russian navy.