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N.Korea's Thanksgiving Day test Shows Improving Speed for Missile Crews

SEOUL Article Content North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed "great satisfaction" over the latest test of a massive multiple-rocket launcher, state media reported on Friday, a launch that experts said showed the improved performance of the system as well as its crews.
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North Korea fired two short-range projectiles into the sea off its east coast on Thursday as part of a fourth test of its brand-new "super-large multiple-rocket launcher," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said told a briefing.



N.Korea's Thanksgiving Day test shows improving speed for missile crews Back to the video



The latest test of the so-called KN-25 missile came as a Thanksgiving Day reminder to the United States of a year-end deadline Kim has set for Washington to show a degree of flexibility in their stalled denuclearisation talks.



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Article content Since the unveiling of the KN-25 tests, a series of tests have revealed that the North Koreans are steadily improving their ability fire multiple rockets from mobile launchers.



Experts said that this capability increases the chance that North Korean rocket crews could quickly deploy or fire and move in case of war before being snatched by South Korean forces or American forces.



Jeffrey Lewis, a missile researcher at James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies tweeted that "the faster it fires the faster it can (get out of dodge) before counter-fire is able to strike."



"READY FOR DEPLOYMENT"



In the initial two KN-25 tests in September and August, missiles were fired 17 minutes and 19 minutes apart respectively according to the JCS stated.



Article content By the end of October, crews had narrowed the gap to three minutes, while on Thursday the gap between the two missiles was about 30 seconds.



"The test fire of volleys that was designed to finally examine combat application of the super large multiple-launch rocket systems, proved the military and technological superiority of this weapon and its solid reliability," KCNA stated.



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 338 km (236 miles) and attained an altitude of 97 kilometers, according to the JCS and put the majority of South Korea within range.



Article content "North Korea is trying selectively to modernize its conventional force in a low cost and high-efficiency way to focus on economy and to reassure its military as nuclear talks are taking place," said Kim Dongyub, an ex- South Korean Navy officer and professor at Kyungnam University, Seoul.



"The latest test indicated that the system was ready for mass production and deployment."



COUNT DOWN TO A DEADLINE



On Friday, a spokesperson from Seoul's Unification Ministry responsible for inter-Korean affairs called on North Korea to stop any actions that could cause tensions in the military and 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 was a failure.



Article content While undertaking negotiations with Washington, North Korea has demonstrated progress in conventional weapons development.



South Korean lawmakers said on Friday an intelligence agency reported an increase in movement of vehicles and other equipment at the Tongchangri missile launch site, which Pyongyang claimed it had destroyed last year.



It tested new missiles that were similar to Russia's SS-26 Iskander in the early part of the year. They are small but easier to conceal launch, conceal, and maneuver during flight.



North Korea has demanded biting sanctions to be lifted and warned that it could embark on the "new path," raising concerns it may resume long-range and nuclear missile testing suspended since 2017.



Stephen Biegun, the U.S.'s top nuclear negotiator, stated last week that the deadline for year-end was a ruse, but it could signal a return to the "provocative" steps that were in place prior to the two years. (Reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith; Editing by Sandra Maler and Stephen Coates)


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