North Korea is testing advanced missile and artillery systems

North Korean President Kim Jong Un supervised tests of advanced artillery and missile systems, according to what the official Korean Central News Agency reported yesterday, in a move that one observer considered a “show of strength” toward Seoul.

The agency reported that Kim supervised tests of “major weapons” conducted by defense research institutes under the country’s five-year military development plan.

She added that these tests evaluated an advanced 240 mm multiple rocket launcher, with a declared range of up to 90 km, and a “special mission” warhead designated for a tactical ballistic missile, in addition to 155 mm self-propelled howitzer shells capable of reaching a distance of 65 km.

Kim expressed his satisfaction with the results, noting that the tests showed progress in enhancing firepower along the southern border through increased automation, longer range, and higher accuracy.

Kim also reiterated that Pyongyang’s self-defense policy not only requires strengthening defensive capabilities, but also aims to enhance what he described as a “deadly and destructive offensive posture” to deter enemies.

He called for the rapid deployment of advanced long-range strike systems, stressing that developing the country’s artillery and missile forces remains a priority under the five-year defense plan.

In statements to Agence France-Presse, the former director of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, Yang Moo-jin, considered that the information circulated by Pyongyang was aimed at “a show of force towards the South Korean capital region.”

He pointed out that North Korea “revealed its strategic intent, by presenting the incitement of anxiety and fear in the hearts of the population through regular displays of military power, as a form of deterrence.”

Diplomatically isolated North Korea is subject to a series of sanctions due to a nuclear program that the country’s leaders have pledged to continue, with the aim of deterring the United States and South Korea. Kim Jong Un announced that the army “provides the naval forces with nuclear weapons,” according to what the Korean Central News Agency (KCNB) reported the day before yesterday, expressing his intention to build military ships weighing 10,000 tons.