North Korea has been expanding its short-range weaponry designed to overcome neighboring South Korea's missile defenses.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over a ceremony to mark the delivery of 250 new tactical ballistic missile launchers to military units on the border.
State media KCNA shared footage from the ceremony in Pyongyang, which took place after dark on Sunday, showing camouflage-coloured launch trucks lined up in a flag-festooned, illuminated square. Soldiers stood in formation for the event, which included a fireworks display.
Addressing the crowd, Kim described the launchers as an “upgraded tactical strike weapon” that he had “personally designed.”
North Korea has been expanding its range of short-range mobile weapons designed to overcome neighboring South Korea's missile defenses, while developing intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to reach the U.S. mainland.
North Korea said it tested a new tactical ballistic missile last month capable of carrying a “large-size warhead.” The term “tactical weapon” is commonly used to describe systems capable of carrying lower-yield nuclear weapons.
“We believe [the missile launchers] “They are intended to be used in a variety of ways, such as attacking or threatening South Korea… Deploying them close to the border would mean the range is not long,” Lee Sung-joon, spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a news conference.
In his speech, Kim blamed Washington for creating a “nuclear-based military bloc” that had forced his country to further strengthen its military capabilities.
North Korea has long condemned joint exercises between the United States and South Korea as a rehearsal for an invasion.
A spokesman for Seoul's Unification Ministry for handling inter-Korean affairs said North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, carried out in defiance of United Nations sanctions, were the main threat to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with a 2018 military deal designed to reduce tensions in tatters.
North Korea has moved troops to the border, stepped up weapons testing and sent hundreds of balloons filled with trash into South Korea. Kim has also strengthened ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
