(LEAD) N. Korea says conducted firepower strike drill with 600 mm ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers

▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (2nd from R) and his daughter Ju-ae attend North Korea's firepower strike drill involving 600 mm ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers on March 14, 2026 in this photo published by the Korean Central News Agency the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

▲ North Korea carries out a firepower strike drill involving 600 mm ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers on March 14, 2026, in this photo published by the Korean Central News Agency the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) NK-missile launch

(LEAD) N. Korea says conducted firepower strike drill with 600 mm ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers

By Park Boram

(ATTN: UPDATES with more info, photos from para 6; ADDS byline)

SEOUL, March 15 (Yonhap) -- North Korea conducted a firepower strike drill involving 600-millimeter ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers, attended by leader Kim Jong-un, state media reported Sunday.

"A long-range artillery sub-unit of the Korean People's Army in the western area conducted a firepower strike drill" the previous day, involving 12 "600 mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The previous day, South Korea's military detected about 10 ballistic missiles launched toward the East Sea from Sunan, near Pyongyang, which flew some 350 kilometers and were seen as the North's response to the ongoing annual South Korea-U.S. military exercise.

The weapon will "immediately be used for their second mission as a means of massive, destructive strike" in case deterrents fail to prevent foreign forces from launching an armed provocation or invading North Korea, Kim was quoted as saying.

Kim's daughter Ju-ae was seen accompanying him during the supervision of the exercise.

Kim said the drill is a regular exercise to check the country's defensive posture and war deterrence and will be conducted "frequently" in the future.

The KCNA said the rockets struck an island target about 364.4 km away in the East Sea "with the accuracy of 100 percent" and demonstrated the "destructive capability of their concentration strike."

Kim hailed the launchers, saying, "There exists no tactical weapon that surpasses the performance of this weapon system," and the country's "powerful attacking capability is for defending ourselves."

"The drill would expose the forces hostile (to North Korea), the enemies within the 420-km striking range, to uneasiness," Kim said.

"It is, in the true sense of the word, a means of deterring war," Kim noted. "Our party and the government ... will maintain durable peace by means of powerful military capabilities."

Once the weapon is used, "the opponent's military infrastructure within its striking range can never survive," the leader also warned.

He instructed all army units to conduct high-intensity practical maneuvers under simulated wartime conditions to maintain full response posture.

The missile launch came as Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said that U.S. President Donald Trump remained positive about resuming dialogue with Kim.

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