North Korea’s state media reported on Feb. 12 that the regime had managed to develop new controllable shells for a multiple rocket launcher as part of its push to expand its weapons arsenal. According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the DPRK’s Defense Development Agency also conducted a “ballistic control test” of a 240-mm caliber multiple rocket launcher with a new control system on Feb. 11. “The DPRK Academy of Defense Sciences believes that the strategic value and utility of the 240-mm multiple rocket launcher will be re-evaluated and its role on the battlefields will increase,” KCNA said. The new development thus reportedly represents a “qualitative change” in the military’s capabilities.
North Korea allegedly owns multiple rocket launchers with calibers of 122, 240, and 300-mm. The 240-mm missile launcher is believed to be the main weapon aimed at Seoul and the surrounding area – which the regime has repeatedly threatened could turn the South Korean capital into a “sea of fire.”
In the first two months of the new year, North Korea has already carried out four weapons tests
In its first launch of 2024 on Jan. 14, North Korea conducted a test launch with a newly developed medium-range solid-fuel missile. Intelligence data shows it flew around 1,000 kilometers before crashing in the Sea of Japan. The test underscored the regime’s efforts to further develop its weapons, which could be aimed at U.S. facilities stationed in the Pacific – like, for instance, the U.S. military hub on Guam.
On Jan. 24 and 28, the DPRK further tested Pulhwasal-3-31 cruise missiles, which North Korea claims are fired from submarines, as well as a Hwasal-2 cruise missile on Jan. 30. The latter is believed to be nearing real-life deployment.
According to the South Korean military, the cruise missiles on Jan. 28 flew eastwards towards the Sea of Japan, whereas the other rockets were directed to the west towards the Yellow Sea. After each of the test launches this year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reiterated his goal of building a nuclear-armed navy to counter what he perceives as “growing external threats.”
Pyongyang’s demonstration of its latest developments is presumably intended as a warning to the rulers in Washington and Seoul but also serves as proof of its capabilities towards the Russian regime, which is seen as an increasingly important trading partner for the DPRK.
Tensions on and around the peninsula are on the rise
Tensions on the Korean peninsula are currently higher than they have been for years. Earlier this year, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un announced that his country was abandoning its longstanding objective of a peaceful unification with the South and ordered a fundamental change to North Korea’s constitution to declare the South as its most hostile foreign adversary. He then stated that the North had no intention to avoid war and would use its nukes to destroy the United States, South Korea, and Japan. He has since been pushing for the regime’s weapons development at an unprecedented pace.
Just three days before the most recent weapons test, on Feb. 8, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced “any attempt by North Korea to launch missiles or develop nuclear weapons” at a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York. “I strongly condemn any violation of sanctions,” Guterres said. He described it as “absolutely essential” that North Korea, like all other nations, adheres to the universally applicable resolutions of the Security Council, which prohibit, among other things, the illegal development of nuclear weapons. However, the rules are “sometimes difficult to implement,” Guterres acknowledged. “But all these things […] are completely unacceptable from our point of view.”
In recent years, the UN Security Council has repeatedly convened meetings in light of North Korea’s frequent missile launches. However, as China and Russia, as members of the Security Council, have repeatedly exercised their right to veto further sanctions against North Korea, the United Nations has so far been unable to respond to the DPRK’s provocations with stricter measures.
The United States and its Asian allies have therefore taken it upon themselves to intensify their joint military exercises in the region, increasingly deploying strategic weapons systems such as aircraft carriers, long-range bombers, and nuclear-powered submarines. The countries have also recently stepped up their deterrence strategies, intelligence sharing, and international cooperation – including a record number of multilateral sanctions imposed on North Korea or affiliated organizations and individuals last year.
Edited by Robert Lauler.
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February 13, 2024 at 04:22PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)