North Korea test-fired a large-caliber multiple-rocket launcher system on Jan. 27, state media reported Wednesday. Photo by KCNA/EPA
SEOUL, Jan. 28 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-firing of an upgraded large-caliber multiple rocket system, state-run media reported Wednesday.
Kim said the test held “great significance in improving the effectiveness of our strategic deterrent,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
“We have achieved technical upgrading of this weapon system to employ its most powerful characteristics in the most appropriate and effective way, and thus made it possible to apply it in specific attacks,” Kim said.
The North Korean leader cited improvements in the system’s self-steered guided flight system, as well as the “intelligence and hitting accuracy of the rockets.” He also claimed the mobility of a newly modernized launch vehicle was “perfect.”
The launch marked North Korea’s second major weapons test of the year, following a Jan. 4 firing of what Pyongyang described as hypersonic weapons.
The test took place ahead of the Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, expected to be convened by early next month. The gathering is seen as a forum for the leadership to review policy performance, announce a new five-year economic plan and signal potential shifts in military and foreign policy priorities.
Kim said the upcoming congress “will clarify the next-stage plans for further bolstering up the country’s nuclear war deterrent,” according to KCNA.
The KCNA report said four rockets were fired during the test on Tuesday, hitting a target in the sea some 223 miles away.
South Korea’s military announced on the same day that it detected multiple short-range ballistic missiles launched from an area north of Pyongyang into the sea between Korea and Japan.
North Korea did not supply detailed specifications of the system, but it has tested a 600mm multiple rocket launcher on several occasions, most recently in May.
The United States and South Korea refer to the 600mm rocket system as the KN-25 and characterize it as a short-range ballistic missile. Pyongyang has claimed since October 2022 that the weapon can be fitted with a tactical nuclear warhead.
In late December, Kim visited a munitions factory and praised a new rocket launcher system that can “annihilate the enemy through sudden precise strike with high accuracy and devastating power” and can also be used as a “strategic attack means.”
Analysts warn that North Korea’s expanding long-range rocket artillery poses a growing conventional threat to South Korea, where much of the population and key military infrastructure lie within range of such systems.