North Korea is deploying 250 new tactical ballistic missile launchers on its border with South Korea, a move that is set to escalate tensions in the region.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over a ceremony to deliver the new weapons system to the military on Sunday. Photos published by state media outlet Rodong Sinmun showed dozens of military trucks lined up in neat rows before the leader.
At the ceremony, marked by massive fireworks, Mr Kim described the new missile launchers as an “up-to-date tactical attack weapon” that he had “personally designed”.
“Dialogue or confrontation can be our choice, but what we must be more thoroughly prepared for is confrontation,” Mr Kim said, adding that it was a “keynote of our policy towards the US that we have consistently maintained”.
“If the US ignores our repeated warnings and continues to attempt to undermine the security of the region,” he warned, “it will have dire consequences for its own security”.
Although photos published by state media such as KCNA showed dozens of vehicles and trucks equipped with launchers positioned behind the driver’s cab, it was unclear if any contained functioning missiles.
Joseph Dempsey, a research associate for military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said it was hard to determine if any missiles were actually loaded at the ceremony. “It would seem unlikely and illogical based on practicality and safety,” he was quoted as saying by American broadcaster CNN.
North Korea is growing its arsenal of mobile short-range weapons aimed at overwhelming missile defences in neighbouring South Korea, while also advancing its development of intercontinental ballistic missiles it claims are capable of reaching the US.
The country showcased some of these new missiles during a drill in June. They included Hwasongpho 11Da tactical ballistic missile, which is capable of carrying a 4.5-tonne “super-large warhead”.
Pyongyang launched two ballistic missiles during the drill, South Korea said, with one flying 600km and the other 120km.
The border between the Koreas is heavily fortified, with Pyongyang asserting it has extensive artillery and military equipment aimed at the South.
Lee Sung-joon, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said they believed the missile launchers were “intended to be used in various ways such to attack or threaten South Korea”. Their deployment near the border would mean the range was not long, he added.
Koh Yu-hwan, emeritus professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University, noted that while Pyongyang had ramped up the rhetoric it had fallen short of strategic provocations.
“South Korea and the US are set to hold a major military exercise in August,” he said. “North Korea is making these remarks as a response to such military exercises.”
Seoul and Washington conduct an annual joint military exercise, known as “Ulchi Freedom Shield”, in August.
Pyongyang has consistently condemned the drills as rehearsals for an invasion.
North Korea adopted a constitutional policy last September to “exponentially” expand its nuclear weapons programme.
The aim was to “ensure the country’s right to existence and development, deter war and protect regional and global peace by rapidly developing nuclear weapons to a higher level”, KCNA reported.
Additional reporting by agencies.