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| 2026-02-19 09:07:33
N Korea-multiple rocket launchers
N. Korea presents 600 mm-caliber multiple rocket launchers ahead of party congress
SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has staged a display of munition workers presenting 600 millimeter-caliber multiple rocket launchers to an upcoming key party congress, with leader Kim Jong-un vowing to unveil next-stage plans to strengthen the country's defense capabilities, state media reported Thursday.
Workers of a leading munitions company manufactured 50 units of the main strike weapon and presented them to the Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea at a ceremony in Pyongyang the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The 600 mm-caliber multiple rocket launcher, last tested in January with Kim present, has a range of about 400 kilometers, and the KCNA report indicates it may now be ready for field deployment.
Photos released showed rows and columns of multiple rocket launchers in the yard of the April 25 House of Culture, the venue of the party congress, which the North has said will be held in late February.
Delivering a speech, the North's leader hailed the weapon as the "world's most advantageous weapon for concentrated super-powerful attack," and said the upcoming congress will unveil next-stage plans to strengthen self-defense capabilities.
"This is a focused strike weapon most powerful in the world. The precision and power of tactical ballistic missile and the multiple launching functions of tubes are perfectly combined in this weapon," Kim said, calling it a "wonderful and attractive weapon."
The leader described the weapon as equipped with artificial intelligence technology and a compound guidance system, saying it is "appropriate for a special attack," or a "strategic mission."
"This large-caliber super-precision multiple launch rocket system, the one and only weapon in the world, has completely changed the role and conception of artillery accepted by modern warfare," Kim claimed. "I dare say it is more than clear that once this weapon is used, our belligerents' military infrastructure and command system will break down all at once."
On the basis of this success, the Ninth Congress will unveil "the next-stage plan and goal for strengthening the self-reliant defense capabilities," signaling that the country may adopt a roadmap for the development of new weapons systems at the meeting.
"Our undertaking for constantly upgrading the military strength capable of forcefully containing any threat and challenge by outside forces will be further accelerated," the KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
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