Despite Landmine Explosion, North Korea Brings Out Long-Range Artillery for Its "Sea of Fire" Threat Against Seoul

[Financial News] North Korea announced that it had test-fired an upgraded 240 mm multiple rocket launcher, the North Korean term for a multiple-launch rocket system. The move came after a landmine explosion near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in Paju-si, Gyeonggi Province, on the 21st. It appears to be raising the level of threat against the Seoul metropolitan area south of the MDL.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on the 24th, "On the 22nd, the defense science research sector conducted a test-firing of updated 240 mm guided rocket rounds in accordance with the plan to modernize the artillery and missile forces to carry out the five-year defense development goals."
KCNA stated, "An autonomous precision-guidance system has been introduced into the updated 240 mm guided rocket rounds, which can strike targets 100 km away in ballistic-flight mode and 115 km away in combined glide-flight mode."
It added, "The test that day verified the accuracy and superiority of the rocket rounds in hitting their targets."
It further said, "Senior officials expressed a unanimous view that the development of extended-range guided rocket rounds had made it possible to be confident of major changes in the firepower readiness of the southern border."
Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea, said, "We must concentrate the most lethal and destructive attack capabilities on the southern border," adding, "We must make the enemy realize that all of our military’s long-range strike capabilities have been updated within the shortest possible period."
In May, North Korea conducted a test launch of extended-range 240 mm guided rocket rounds while Kim Jong Un observed.
The 240 mm multiple rocket launcher is one of North Korea’s signature long-range artillery systems for strikes against South Korea, brought out when it issues its so-called "Sea of Fire" threat against Seoul. It has been forward-deployed near the front line for surprise mass attacks on the Seoul metropolitan area. The weapon has already been transferred to Russia and used in combat in the war in Ukraine.
The older model has a range of around 60 km. The upgraded version North Korea recently unveiled appears to have improved precision through the addition of guidance capabilities and nearly doubled its range.
North Korea’s 240 mm multiple rocket launcher is often compared with the South Korean military’s 239 mm multiple-launch guided rocket system, the K239 Chunmoo. The Chunmoo has a range of around 80 km, but North Korea claimed that day that the range of its new 240 mm multiple rocket launcher equipped with guidance capabilities had been extended to a maximum of 115 km. This means the 240 mm launcher’s strike range has expanded beyond Seoul to United States Forces Korea (USFK) bases in Osan and Pyeongtaek. 


[email protected] Kang Gu-gwi Reporter