Overview
- KCNA said Friday that Kim Jong-un inspected a factory Wednesday producing a new 155 mm self-propelled howitzer for three battalions to be sent to long-range artillery units on the southern border this year.
- North Korea claims the gun can strike beyond 60 kilometers, a range that could reach central Seoul from frontline positions if proven.
- South Korea’s military says it is closely monitoring the development, and analysts caution that the system’s real range, accuracy, and sustained rate of fire have not been verified.
- In a separate report, Kim boarded the 5,000-ton destroyer Choe Hyon on Thursday and ordered it handed to the navy by mid-June after handling tests, with recent state media highlighting strategic cruise missile launches from the ship.
- KCNA also flagged plans to deploy additional missiles and multiple-rocket launchers along the boundary, moves that track with North Korea’s revised constitution dropping reunification language and that could place more of the Seoul area’s people and factories at risk.