North Korea tests new missile launchers

2024-03-19 08:40:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

South Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen military drills that included the launch of "new and super-large" missile launchers, state media reported on March 19, a day after Seoul said Pyongyang had launched long-range ballistic missiles. short action.

The United States and South Korea completed one of the largest joint military exercises last week, exercises that sparked anger in the North, which has been conducting military exercises.

North Korea has condemned all drills conducted by Washington and Seoul, which it has described as preparations for invasion.

Seoul's military said on Monday it had detected the launch of an "intermediate-range ballistic missile" from the North, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stayed in the South Korean capital for talks.

The super-large missile launcher, referred to as the KN-25 by the Seoul and Washington militaries, is a short-range ballistic missile, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

The North claims that this weapon is capable of being equipped with a tactical nuclear warhead.

North Korea's state-run news agency said Kim had observed drills that tested the "real war capabilities" of the 600-millimeter rocket launcher, as he stressed the importance of "war preparations."

According to Kim, this missile launcher will help the North "block and suppress the possibility of war with the perfect readiness to destroy the enemy's capital".

Pyongyang this month warned Seoul and Washington that they would pay a "high price" for their military exercises, after it was reported that Kim had declared that an artillery unit of his state was capable of hitting the South Korean capital. .

Last week, Kim observed paratroopers training, exercises intended to demonstrate the ability of North Korean soldiers to "immediately invade an enemy region," state media reported.

Monday's ballistic missile test was the second test this year, as earlier in the year the North has declared the South "the main enemy" and the country has given up on the goal of unifying the two Koreas.

Washington, a key ally of Seoul, has stationed nearly 27,000 American soldiers in South Korea to help Seoul defend itself from Pyongyang./ REL