North Korea said it plans to deploy a new weapon test-fired on Aug. 26 along its border to target the South's capital region.
The Korean Central News Agency reported on Aug. 27 that defense science research institutions test-fired a "lightweight multipurpose missile launch system" and a "multiple-launch tactical cruise missile weapon system" the previous day, with leader Kim Jong-un in attendance. According to the report, the tactical cruise missile, with a range of 100 kilometers, will be deployed to a long-range artillery brigade in the southern border region.
If the cruise missile system is deployed near the Military Demarcation Line on North Korea's southern border, it could strike most of the greater Seoul area, including the capital itself. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a short-range ballistic missile launched the same day from the Jongju area in North Pyongan Province toward the Yellow Sea flew about 80 kilometers.
KCNA claimed the tactical cruise missile is a precision-strike weapon system combining an ultra-precise autonomous navigation system and a terrain-matching navigation system, with an artificial intelligence (AI) terminal guidance function, capable of pinpoint strikes on targets 100 kilometers away. Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said, "This means new technologies such as AI and composite flight have been deployed in actual combat, with maximized guidance performance and evasive maneuvering capabilities."
Kim, who observed the test-firing, said, "The current situation urges the constant renewal of military power," adding, "Building the most modern and strongest artillery force unmatched by anyone is the top priority of our policy direction in military buildup." He also threatened, "Possessing destructive power to the extent that hostile forces' survival itself becomes theoretically impossible, beyond mere chance, is an essential condition for our military's operations," and "Such capability instills extreme anxiety and fear in the enemy, serving as an important link in war deterrence and a responsible exercise of power in itself."
