Capable of wiping out the enemy… Kim showcases new rocket launchers
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a factory on Tuesday that produces new multiple rocket launchers, praising their ability to “wipe out the enemy.”
According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim reviewed the production status of the mobile rocket system, which will be supplied to key army units under a decision by the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea. He praised the strong revolutionary spirit of the factory workers, who are increasing production on a daily basis and continuing their efforts to meet the rocket-system targets set by the party.
Kim inspects the missiles
Kim said the new weapons system would serve as “the main strike means” of the army, adding that it could also be used in a “strategic attack,” referring to nuclear capabilities.
He described the new multiple rocket launcher system as “a super-powerful weapon capable of annihilating the enemy through a sudden, precise strike with a high level of accuracy and enormous destructive power,” noting that it would be used “on a large scale in concentrated attacks during military operations.”
He stressed that the mobile rocket system would reshape North Korea’s artillery power as a whole, and that the factory plays a pivotal role in implementing the party’s military strategy to modernize and strengthen long-range artillery.
He added that the system is characterized by high accuracy and significant destructive capability, allowing concentrated strikes against the enemy, and that it constitutes a highly powerful strategic attack tool. He emphasized that producing it based on national capabilities and technologies is a source of pride.
Kim Jong-un also referred to future modernization plans for the facility, stressing the need for a “revolution” in weapons-system renewal by improving production structures and strengthening the technological base at every stage of manufacturing, to ensure the achievement of the military production goals to be set by the party’s ninth congress.
Images broadcast by state media showed Kim Jong-un standing beside massive new rocket systems inside a large factory decorated with propaganda slogans.
Kim’s visit came a day after Pyongyang announced the launch test of two long-range strategic cruise missiles, describing it as proof of “combat readiness” in response to external threats.
Additional images showed Kim standing next to the new rocket systems inside the expansive facility.
Seoul and Pyongyang remain technically at war, as the conflict ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Analysts believe North Korea’s large artillery arsenal is a central element of its strategy in the event of conflict on the peninsula.
A 2020 study by the RAND Corporation estimated that North Korea’s artillery systems could cause as many as 10,000 casualties in just one hour if they targeted major population centers such as the South Korean capital, Seoul.
Pyongyang has also significantly increased its missile tests in recent years.
Analysts say this campaign aims to improve precision-strike capabilities, challenge the United States and South Korea, and test weapons ahead of potential exports to Russia, according to AFP.
