North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks in Pyongyang in this image released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 22, 2025 (KCNA)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised tests of an upgraded rocket launcher and other weapons on the anniversary of the start of the Korean War, according to state-run media.
The tests, conducted Thursday, analyzed the combat characteristics of an upgraded 240 mm multiple rocket launcher system, a tactical ballistic missile warhead and a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer, the Korean Central News Agency reported Friday.
KCNA said the rocket launcher increased its firing range to 56 miles, while the howitzer demonstrated a firing range of roughly 40 miles.
Kim said the launches showcased advances in North Korea’s military modernization policy, particularly efforts to improve firepower by making weapons more automated, longer-range and precise, according to the report.
Seoul and Washington detected and tracked multiple projectiles launched by North Korea between 7:27 a.m. and 8:20 a.m. that day and are maintaining close coordination to prepare for any contingencies, Lee Kyung-ho, a deputy spokesman for South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense, said during a regular briefing Monday.
“The projectiles are tactical-level weapon systems operated by North Korea and their details will be finalized following a comprehensive joint analysis by South Korea and the U.S.,” Lee said.
He also told reporters to “refrain from politically interpreting and disparaging the contributions of South Korean and U.S. service members” to defending the peninsula.
Lee’s remarks came after the Chosun Ilbo newspaper criticized the Defense Ministry in a report Saturday for not disclosing the missile testing to reporters.
The Defense Ministry customarily alerts local reporters shortly after detecting North Korean missile activity.
The report questioned whether the government’s failure to immediately disclose the launches reflected a lack of awareness or an attempt to conceal them.
Lee said the government was tracking the incident in real time but required additional analysis before details could be released.
The latest launches continue a steady pace of North Korean weapons testing this year, including a series of tests in April focusing on Hwasong-11 Ra surface-to-surface tactical ballistic missiles and a tactical ballistic missile tipped with a cluster bomb warhead.
Earlier this month the North Korean leader said the country will expand its nuclear arsenal and accelerate development of advanced weapons systems, including a 10,000-ton strategic guided missile cruiser, KCNA reported June 23.
Kim ordered his country’s defense capabilities strengthened “without pause” with the goal of “overtaking the world.”
Last week’s test came days after President Donald Trump extended the long-standing national emergency declaration on North Korea for another year. The country’s weapons program continues to pose an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to national security, foreign policy and economy, according to a notice in the Federal Register.
The decision was signed by the president on June 22 and published on the Federal Register two days later.
The emergency declaration has been in effect since June 2008, according to the White House notice.
