SEOUL Article Content North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed "great satisfaction" over the latest test of a large multiple-rocket launcher, the state media reported on Friday, a test that experts said showed the improved performance of the system and its crews.
Two short-range projectiles were launched by North Korea into the sea off its east coast Thursday in the fourth test of its "super-large multiple rocket launcher", South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced at a briefing.
N.Korea's Thanksgiving Day test shows an increase in speed for missile crews. The titan launcher Back to video
The United States was reminded by Kim on Thanksgiving Day that Washington has an end-of-year deadline to meet in order to allow Kim to test the KN-25 missile.
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Article content The string of tests conducted since the KN-25 was first revealed in August shows the North Koreans steadily improving their capability to rapidly launch multiple rockets from their mobile launchers.
Experts have said that this capability increases the chances that North Korean rocket crews could quickly deploy to fire, move, and even move in case of war before being snatched by South Korean forces or American forces.
Jeffrey Lewis, a missile researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies posted on Twitter that "the faster it fires the faster it can (get out of dodge) before counter-fire is able to strike."
"READY FOR DEPLOYMENT!"
The JCS declared that the missiles fired during the August and September KN-25 tests were fired for 17 minutes and 19 minutes, respectively.
Content of the article The crews had reduced the interval to three minutes by the end of October while the gap between missiles was only 30 seconds on Thursday.
"The volley test-fire aimed to finally examine the capabilities of the super-large multiple-launch rocket system, which proved the superiority in technology and military of the weapon system as well as its solid reliability," KCNA said.
Photos released by KCNA showed missiles being fired from a transporter-erector-launcher equipped with four launcher tubes.
The new short-range missiles pose an immediate threat to South Korea and U.S. forces stationed there, experts say.
The missiles traveled up to the distance of 380 km (236 miles) and attained an altitude of 97 kilometers according to the JCS which puts nearly all of South Korea within range.
Article content "North Korea is attempting to selectively to modernize its conventional force in a low-cost and high-efficiency fashion to focus on economy and reassure military while nuclear talks are in progress," said Kim Dongyub, a former South Korean Navy officer and professor at Kyungnam University, Seoul.
"The system is ready for mass production and deployment," said the latest test.
COUNT DOWN TO A DEADLINE
On Friday, a spokesperson at Seoul's Unification Ministry responsible for inter-Korean issues asked North Korea to stop any actions that could cause military tension and to return to dialogue.
Kim has set an end-of-year date to restart talks with the United States which remain stalemated after a working-level meeting last month ended in a stalemate.
Article content During negotiations with Washington, North Korea has shown progress in conventional weapons development.
South Korean lawmakers said on Friday an intelligence agency reported increased movement in vehicles and other equipment at the Tongchangri missile launch site that Pyongyang said it had demolished last year.
Early this year, it tested new missiles with similar features similar to Russia's SS-26 Iskander which are relatively smaller, but easier to conceal launch, maneuver and maneuver in flight.
North Korea has demanded biting sanctions be lifted and warned that it could embark on a "new route," raising concerns it may resume long-range and nuclear missile tests that were suspended in 2017.
Stephen Biegun, the U.S.'s most powerful nuclear negotiator said last week that the deadline for year-end was a ruse, but it could be a sign of a return to the "provocative" actions implemented prior to the last two years. (Reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith; Editing by Sandra Maler and Stephen Coates)