N. Korea test-fires upgraded multiple-rocket launcher shells

SEOUL, Sept. 24 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Thursday it has test-fired shells for an upgraded 240mm multiple rocket launcher system, stressing the need to deploy the "deadliest" attack forces along the border with South Korea.

North Korea conducted a test of upgraded 240mm-caliber controlled multiple-launch rockets Tuesday under the country's five-year plan for modernizing artillery and missile forces, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Leading military cadres overseeing the test said "the development of range-extended rockets assures them of a significant change in the firepower readiness along the southern border," according to the report.

Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party, stressed the need to "concentrate the deadliest and destructive attack forces on the southern border," according to the KCNA.

"He underscored the need to make the enemy aware of the fact that we have replaced all our armed forces' long-range strike means with the latest ones at the earliest date," it said.

The rockets equipped with the "autonomous pinpoint guide system" are capable of striking a target 100 kilometers away in a trajectory flight mode and 115 km away in a combined glide mode, according to the report.

Since North Korea declared inter-Korean ties as those between "two states hostile to each other" in 2023, it appears to have focused on upgrading the performance of striking means that could put South Korea within its range.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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