North Korea tests new rocket launcher control system
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The new rocket launcher would now be “re-evaluated” and its battlefield role “increased”, KCNA reported.
PHOTO: AFP
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SEOUL - North Korea on Feb 12 said it had developed a new control system for a multiple rocket launcher that would lead to a “qualitative change” in its defence capabilities.
Pyongyang’s Academy of Defence Science successfully carried out a “ballistic control test firing of 240mm-calibre multiple rocket launcher shells” on Feb 10 to develop a “controllable shell and ballistic control system” for the launcher, state news agency KCNA reported.
The new rocket launcher would now be “re-evaluated” and its battlefield role “increased”, KCNA said.
Nuclear-armed North Korea in 2024 declared South Korea as its “principal enemy”
Leader Kim Jong Un on Feb 9 repeated that Pyongyang would not hesitate to “put an end” to South Korea if attacked,
In January, North Korea fired an artillery barrage near two South Korean border islands, prompting a live-fire drill by the South and evacuation orders for residents.
Mr Kim has also ramped up weapons testing, including the launch in 2024 of a flurry of cruise missiles, which analysts said the North could be supplying to Russia for use in Ukraine.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has vowed a strong response if Pyongyang attacks, calling on his military to “act first, report later” if provoked.
The hawkish Yoon has bolstered defence cooperation with the United States and Japan since coming to office in 2022, including expanding joint drills, to counter Pyongyang’s growing threats. AFP
