SEOUL: North Korea has tested a range of tactical ballistic missiles, artillery rockets and precision cruise missiles designed for modern warfare under the supervision of leader Kim Jong-Un, state media reported on Saturday.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the tests evaluated the combat effectiveness of newly upgraded weapons systems, including AI-guided tactical cruise missiles and a lightweight multi-purpose missile-launching platform.
The launches, which were previously detected and reported by South Korea’s military, also confirmed the deployment of a new multiple tactical cruise missile.
North Korea has accelerated efforts in recent years to modernise its tactical and conventional arsenal alongside its long-range ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes. Pyongyang has repeatedly pledged to station advanced weapons systems near its border with South Korea.
KCNA said the latest tests assessed the destructive capability of a “special mission warhead” mounted on tactical ballistic missiles, as well as the reliability of long-range multiple-launch artillery rockets and the accuracy of AI-guided cruise missiles.
The agency quoted Kim as saying the tests demonstrated that the weapons and automated launch systems had been successfully upgraded “to suit the proper conditions of modern warfare so as to enhance their application to combat”.
Kim also said the trials confirmed the operational readiness of cruise missiles intended for deployment with artillery units near the South Korean border.
The missiles, equipped with precision navigation and AI-assisted guidance systems, are capable of striking targets up to 100 kilometres away.
“It is essential condition for our army’s operations to have such destructive power as enough to make any encountering force impossible to survive theoretically, apart from fortune,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
South Korea’s military said earlier this week that it had detected the launch of multiple projectiles, including at least one ballistic missile, which travelled approximately 80 kilometres.
