North Korea’s Kim Jong Un oversees transfer of missile launchers to border

North Korea has been expanding its short-range weaponry designed to overwhelm missile defences in neighbouring South Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has presided over a ceremony to mark the delivery of 250 new tactical ballistic missile launchers to military units at the border.

State media KCNA shared images of the Pyongyang ceremony, which took place after dark on Sunday, showing camouflage-coloured launcher trucks lined up on a floodlit square decked out with flags. Soldiers stood in formation for the event, which included a fireworks display.

Addressing the crowds, Kim described the launchers as an “up-to-date tactical attack weapon” that he had “personally designed”.

North Korea has been expanding its range of mobile short-range weapons designed to overwhelm missile defences in neighbouring South Korea, while also developing intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to reach the continental United States.

Kim Jong Un handing a flag to a soldier in combat uniform. They are on stage at a ceremony, Kim is dressed in black. The soldiers are in combat uniform. There are other officials nearby, — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with soldiers at the ceremony. The launchers will be delivered to front-line units [KCNA via Reuters]

North Korea said it tested a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a “superlarge warhead” last month. Tactical weaponry is a term usually used to describe systems capable of delivering lower-yield nuclear weapons.

“We believe [the missile launchers] are intended to be used in various ways, such as to attack or threaten South Korea… Deploying near the border would mean that the range is not long,” Lee Sung-joon, the spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a media briefing.

In his speech, Kim blamed Washington for creating a “nuclear-based military block” that had forced his country to further strengthen its military capabilities.

North Korea has long condemned joint drills between the United States and South Korea as a rehearsal for invasion.

A spokesperson for Seoul’s Ministry of Unification for handling inter-Korean affairs said it was North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes, pursued in defiance of United Nations sanctions, that were the primary threat to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with a 2018 military agreement designed to reduce tension in tatters.

North Korea has moved troops to the border, ramped up weapons testing and sent hundreds of balloons stuffed with rubbish to South Korea. Kim has also deepened ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.