North Korea will deploy new artillery guns targeting Seoul : NPR
Key Points:
- North Korea announced plans to deploy new long-range artillery systems capable of striking the Seoul metropolitan area and will commission its first naval destroyer, the Choe Hyon, by mid-June.
- Leader Kim Jong Un inspected the production of 155-mm self-propelled gun-howitzers with a striking range over 60 kilometers, along with other missile and rocket launcher systems to be deployed near the southern border.
- The destroyer Choe Hyon, North Korea's largest and most advanced warship, underwent successful operational tests, with Kim ordering its formal handover to the navy; his teenage daughter was publicly seen with him during the inspection.
- These military developments follow North Korea's constitutional revision removing references to Korean unification and redefining its territory as only the northern half of the peninsula, signaling a hardening stance against South Korea.
- North Korea continues to reject dialogue with South Korea and the U.S., focusing on expanding its nuclear and missile capabilities amid stalled diplomacy and rising tensions on the peninsula.