North Korea tests new multi-purpose missile launch system

n n

This picture taken on March 23, 2026 and released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 24, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivering a policy speech at the First Session of the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly at the Assembly Hall in Pyongyang. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP) / South Korea OUT / —EDITORS NOTE— RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE. /

n

North Korea said Wednesday it had tested a new lightweight multi-purpose missile launching system and a multiple tactical cruise missile weapon system the previous day.

n

The tests, previously reported by South Korea’s military, were overseen by the North’s leader, Kim Jong Un, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

n

South Korea said on Tuesday the North fired several projectiles, including a ballistic missile, off its west coast, the latest in a flurry of tests this year. Seoul said the missiles flew about 80 kilometres (50 miles).

n

Analysts have said that by conducting a series of missile tests in recent months, Pyongyang may be trying to take advantage of eroding international norms to cement its nuclear status.

n

Tuesday’s launch “analyzed and estimated the power of special mission warhead of tactical ballistic missile, the reliability of 240mm controlled artillery rocket with expanded firing range which employed an ultra-precision autonomous navigation system,” KCNA said in an English dispatch.

n

North Korean leader Kim noted that the “major weapon systems are a clear signal of upgrading of our military force and an event of showing great technical progress”, KCNA quoted him as saying.

n

“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,” he added, according to the report.

n

Satisfied with the test results, he said “important ultra-high defence science and technologies were introduced into the practical weapon tests.”

n

One photo released by KCNA shows a missile blasting off from a mobile launcher, with a bright exhaust flame and a cloud of smoke billowing around the vehicle.

n

Another photo shows Kim standing next to a mobile launcher flanked by military officials.

n

North Korea is subject to multiple United Nations sanctions banning its nuclear weapons development and use of ballistic missile technology, restrictions it has repeatedly flouted.

n

– Conventional firepower –

n

Tuesday’s launches were North Korea’s first in 37 days and its eighth test this year.

n

In April, Pyongyang conducted a ballistic missile test to “verify the characteristics and power of a cluster bomb warhead,” its state media said at the time.

n

With the latest launch, Pyongyang is indicating that it intends to deploy such a weapon system in the event of war, said analyst Hong Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.

n

The weapon system is “a precision-strike complex that integrates tactical cruise missiles, guided multiple-launch rocket systems, and tactical ballistic missiles”, he said.

n

“It highlights precise, long-range, automated conventional firepower capable of overwhelming the South even below the nuclear threshold,” Hong added.

n

Earlier this month, Kim called on top military officials to turn the country’s southern border with South Korea into an “impregnable fortress”.

n n