Kim Jong Un, according to North Korea, oversaw rocket launcher tests aimed at Seoul.

The information was released one day after South Korea and Japan claimed to have seen the North launch several short-range ballistic missiles, continuing a wave of military demonstrations that have heightened tensions in the area.

TFD – Delve into Kim Jong Un’s address and military activities, heightening tensions in North Korea.

South Korea’s SEOUL As he pledged to bolster his war deterrent in the face of intensifying conflicts with rivals, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a live-fire exercise including nuclear-capable “super-large” multiple rocket launchers intended to attack the capital of South Korea, state media reported on Tuesday.

The information was released on the same day that South Korea and Japan reported seeing North Korea continue a recent wave of weapons demonstrations that have heightened tensions in the region by firing multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward waters off its eastern coast.

Because they can generate their own thrust and be guided during delivery, experts claim that North Korea’s massive artillery rockets blur the lines between artillery weapons and ballistic missiles. Some of these systems, such as the 600mm multiple rocket launchers tested on Monday, have been described by the North as having the ability to deliver tactical nuclear warheads.

Images released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency showed what seemed to be a tiny island target covered in smoke and flames as at least six missiles were fired from launch vehicles at once.

Later on Tuesday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea declared that they believed North Korea had carried out more launches than what was depicted in the images. South Korea classifies the North Korean weapons system tested on Monday as a ballistic missile due to its capabilities and features, according to Lt. Col. Lee Chang-hyun, a deputy spokesperson for the JCS.

According to KCNA, in a further exercise, North Korean soldiers imitated detonating an artillery round at a certain height. The test’s purpose was not made clear in the report; it may have been to practice detonating a nuclear weapon over an adversary.

Kim described the 600mm multiple rocket launchers as essential components of his stockpile of armaments, which he claims can destroy Seoul in the event that the Korean Peninsula is again embroiled in conflict.

According to the KCNA, Kim stated that it is imperative to emphasize to the adversaries that they will always be unable to avert catastrophic outcomes in the event of armed conflict and war. In order to prevent and suppress the threat of conflict, his army must “more thoroughly fulfill their missions to collapse the enemy’s capital and the structure of its military forces with the constant perfect preparation to do so.”

According to Lee, South Korea’s deputy spokesperson, the US and South Korea have been strengthening their capacity to respond to North Korea’s growing nuclear threats.

Days had passed since the conclusion of the most recent joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, which the North views as a practice invasion. Uncertainty surrounded whether the North planned the launches to coincide with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Seoul. Blinken attended a democracy summit on Monday and had discussions with South Korean officials over the North Korean threat.

Since 2022, tensions have increased on the Korean Peninsula as a result of Kim using Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a pretext to step up missile and other weapon testing. In response, South Korea and the United States have increased their joint training and trilateral exercises with Japan and updated their deterrence plans, which center on vital American resources.

In an election year for both South Korea and the United States, there are worries that North Korea may step up its pressure even more.

In January, Kim gave a scathing address to Pyongyang’s rubber-stamp parliament, declaring that he was giving up on North Korea’s long-standing objective of rapprochement with the South and directing the redrafting of the North’s constitution to establish its competitor, split apart by war, as its most dangerous foe. He said that in the event of another war, North Korea would annex and conquer the South, as stated in the new charter.