North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has overseen a “long-range artillery” drill on Tuesday after Pyongyang threatened to demonstrate a new weapon, according to the report.
Kim “guided” the drill on Monday, KCNA report said.
South Korea had said that North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles on Monday, but it was not immediately clear if the two incidents were the same.
“As he ordered the sub-units to start the fire, the men of long-range artillery pieces on the front opened fire all at once,” KCNA reported.
“He expressed great satisfaction with the fact that the artillerymen are prepared to make a rapid reaction to any circumstances and perfectly carry out their firepower combat duties.”
The report did not elaborate on the details of the weapons used at the training, but photos released by the state media showed a rocket being fired from what appeared to be a super-large multiple rocket launcher North Korea tested last year, Yonhap News Agency said.
In 2019, during the 10-day training, North Korea raised tensions with its own missile and other weapons tests. But North Korea’s typical harsh rhetoric over the drills largely focused on South Korea, not the United States, in a suggestion that it’s still interested in resuming nuclear talks with the US.
The DPRK criticised the South Korea-US joint military drills as a rehearsal for a northward invasion, test-firing short-range projectiles into the East Sea before and during the drills to protest against it.