North Korea has tested a mix of tactical ballistic missiles, artillery rockets, and precision cruise missiles designed for modern warfare with enhanced combat application under leader Kim Jong Un’s supervision, KCNA state news agency said on Wednesday.
Having advanced the development of a series of long-range ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons capabilities, North Korea has been steadily upgrading its tactical and conventional arsenal, vowing to deploy it near the border with South Korea.
The tests assessed the power of a “special mission warhead” on tactical ballistic missiles, the reliability of long-range multiple-launch artillery rockets, and the accuracy of AI-guided tactical cruise missiles, KCNA said.
The tests showed the weapons and automated launch systems have been successfully upgraded to “suit the proper conditions of modern warfare so as to enhance their application to combat,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
The tests in particular confirmed the combat readiness of cruise missiles that will be deployed at artillery units near the border with South Korea, equipped with precision navigation and AI-guided control that can strike targets at 100 km (62 miles), Kim said.
Central Seoul, the densely populated capital of South Korea, is well within 100 km of the Demilitarized Zone border with the North, which has called the South its “primary foe” and disavowed the policy of eventual unification.
North Korea has supplied Russia with ballistic missiles and artillery rockets since late 2023 that are used by Moscow in the war against Ukraine. The use of those weapons is believed to have given Pyongyang valuable battlefield data for its arsenal.
South Korea’s military said on Tuesday it detected the launch of multiple projectiles, including a ballistic missile.
