[Anchor] Yesterday (the 26th), North Korea carried out a ballistic missile launch for the first time in 37 days and, unusually, fired multiple rocket systems alongside it. State media said the launches were used to test new weapons systems, and Chairman Kim Jong Un observed the exercises. We go now to our reporter for details. Park Su-ju. [Reporter] North Korean state media reported that the Missile General Bureau and the Academy of Defense Science conducted tests yesterday of a newly developed lightweight, multi-purpose missile-launch system and a multi-launch tactical cruise-missile weapon system. The reports said the trials evaluated the destructive power of a tactical ballistic missile warhead designed for special missions, tested the reliability of an ultra-precision autonomous guidance-and-navigation system for an extended 240mm guided rocket projectile, and assessed the strike accuracy of an AI-guided tactical cruise missile. Kim Jong Un watched the tests, praised the results and expressed strong satisfaction with the adoption of advanced defense-science technologies. State media said the tactical cruise missile is slated for deployment to a \”long-range artillery brigade in the southern border area,\” and quoted Kim as offering a positive assessment of the system’s military value. North Korea claims the tactical cruise munition combines ultra-precision autonomous navigation with terrain-matching navigation and AI guidance, and that its glide–thrust hybrid flight profile enables ultra-precise strikes out to 100 km. If a cruise-missile system with a 100 km range is deployed near the Military Demarcation Line as claimed, most of the Seoul metropolitan area, including Seoul, would fall within its reach. Kim characterized yesterday’s tests as a clear sign of military renewal and a major technological advance in force enhancement, saying the military’s firepower systems have become automated, longer-range and ultra-precise. He warned that the current situation demands continuous military modernization and said building the most modern and powerful artillery force is the top policy priority. He asserted it is essential for opposing forces to possess \”destructive power so great that survival would be theoretically impossible,\” and threatened that the party and government will continue to steadily and rapidly strengthen both nuclear and conventional forces, expressing that policy through increasingly visible actions. South Korean military officials said they detected an unusual, simultaneous launch at about 1 p.m. yesterday from the Jeongju area of North Pyongan Province toward the Yellow Sea involving multiple projectiles, including short-range ballistic missiles and rocket systems. This was North Korea’s first ballistic-missile launch in 37 days and its eighth so far this year. This report was provided by the Ministry of Unification. Yonhap News TV story inquiries and tips: KakaoTalk/Line jebo23. Park Su-ju (sooju@yna.co.kr)
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