North Korea Tests Tactical Nuke with Super-Large Multiple Rocket Launcher: Threatens South Korea

Confirmed ballistic missile launch on the 18th
Threatens a nuclear strike against South Korea with an air explosion
Kim Jong Un “ready to collapse capital”

North Korea confirmed on the 19th that the ballistic missile launched on the 18th was a super-large multiple rocket launcher firing, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un directed the training. In particular, they conducted an experiment assuming the loading of tactical nuclear weapons, posing a nuclear strike threat to South Korea.

The Korean Central News Agency reported on the 19th that “Leader Kim directed firing training of the Western District Artillery Unit on the 18th”. The agency also published photos showing that six rockets fired from the super-large multiple rocket launchers hit a target that appears to be “Alsom Island,” an uninhabited island on the sea off Gilju-gun, Hamgyeonbuk-do.

The agency reported that the super-large multiple rocket launcher also conducted a mock test of an air explosion in the target airspace. The South Korean and US military authorities classify North Korea’s super-large multiple rocket launcher as KN-25 and categorize it as a short-range ballistic missile. North Korea claims that it can equip this with a tactical nuclear warhead. Researcher Yang Uk of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies interpreted, “Usually, air explosions are used to maximize destruction in a nuclear attack,” and “It threatened a nuclear strike against South Korea with an air explosion mock test.”

Leader Kim emphasized while directing artillery training, “We need to solidify the perception among our enemies that if a military collision occurs and a war breaks out, there is no way to avoid disastrous consequences.” He also stressed, “As destructive attack means are always ready to collapse the enemy’s capital and military structure, you must be more thorough in performing your mission to block and deter the possibility of war.” In the photos released by the agency, there is also a scene where Leader Kim is watching the training with his fist clenched.

The South Korean military authorities also captured North Korea’s super-large multiple rocket launch firing training. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said on the 18th, “We have detected several flying objects believed to be short-range ballistic missiles launched from the vicinity of Pyongyang to the East Sea,” and “It landed in the East Sea after flying about 300 km.”