North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a series of weapons tests on 25 June that included an upgraded multiple rocket launcher, a tactical ballistic missile warhead and a self-propelled howitzer, state media reported the following day. The tests, which Kim described as demonstrating progress in automation, range and precision, were accompanied by a call to strengthen the country’s “deadly and destructive offensive posture” so that “no enemy dare to confront” it. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the 240 mm rocket launcher now has a range of 90 km and an autonomous guidance system, while the howitzer shell can reach 65 km, putting parts of the Seoul metropolitan area within striking distance from positions near the inter-Korean border.

According to KCNA, the “special mission” warhead tested is designed to inflict fatal damage on airfields, ports and power facilities. Kim framed the display of military might as a form of deterrence, stating that “making the enemies feel constant uneasiness and fear is just an important aspect of the exercise of war deterrent.” Analysts in Seoul note that the details released amount to a show of force against the South Korean capital region, with the North explicitly identifying strategic infrastructure as targets.

South Korea’s Ministry of Defence announced a parallel expansion of its own capabilities, revealing plans to train 500,000 drone operators and acquire more than 20,000 low-cost kamikaze drones by 2029. The ministry said the programme responds to a changing military environment in which unmanned systems have assumed a decisive role, citing lessons from the war in Ukraine. Seoul also intends to produce 110,000 drones for distribution across units to counter North Korean incursions, which have included drone flights over the capital in recent years. A separate dispute has emerged between South Korea and the United Nations Command (UNC) over whether North Korea’s border fortifications—fence installation, road repairs and minelaying on the northern side of the military demarcation line—constitute a violation of the armistice agreement. The UNC maintains they do not, while South Korea’s military has characterised them as a clear breach.

Viewed from Beijing and Moscow, North Korea’s accelerated weapons development unfolds in a context of renewed great-power competition for influence over Pyongyang. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to North Korea earlier in June, his first in seven years, omitted any reference to denuclearisation, a shift that analysts in Europe interpret as Beijing’s need to compete with Russia’s growing military and technological support for Kim’s regime. Moscow has accepted North Korea’s nuclear status and, according to Western intelligence assessments, supplies technical knowledge and weaponry in exchange for munitions and soldiers used in the war against Ukraine. This dual backing, analysts note, gives Kim greater room to reject talks with Washington and Seoul while modernising both his nuclear and conventional arsenals. No diplomatic channel is currently active, and North Korea has reiterated that it will not return to negotiations as long as denuclearisation remains a precondition.