North Korea will deploy new artillery guns targeting Seoul and commission its 1st destroyer
Yahoo • • world
Key Points:
- North Korea announced plans to deploy new long-range artillery systems this year capable of striking South Korea's capital region, along with commissioning its first naval destroyer in the coming weeks.
- Leader Kim Jong Un inspected the production of 155-mm self-propelled gun-howitzers with a striking range of over 60 kilometers and ordered deployment of various missile and rocket launcher systems along the border.
- The new destroyer, North Korea's largest and most advanced warship, is set to be handed over to the navy by mid-June after successful tests, with Kim also calling for the construction of two more destroyers.
- These military developments follow North Korea's constitutional revision removing commitments to Korean unification and redefining its territory as only the northern half of the peninsula, signaling a hardening stance toward South Korea.
- Kim's increasingly hostile position toward South Korea undermines Seoul's efforts for reengagement and peaceful diplomacy, escalating tensions amid stalled nuclear negotiations.
