Kim Jong Un orders military to modernize artillery forces

Kim Jong Un made the announcement, posing with sniper rifles as his generals cheered him on. Photo: STR/AFP

Kim Jong Un ordered his military to modernize its artillery forces, posing with sniper rifles and testing a truck designed to carry a new multiple launch rocket system.

Experts said the North Korean leader visited factories ammunition production over the weekend could also mark efforts to develop more shells to supply the Russian war machine against Ukraine.

Kim called for expanding the army's «scientific and technological capabilities to enhance the artillery power» of the army, according to the Korean Central News Agency. , inspecting production lines at large defense industrial complexes.

The authoritarian leader was pictured taking aim with a sniper rifle at a shooting range as his generals applauded in the background.

Kim Jong Un inspects recently updated version of the trucks with an updated multiple launch rocket system. Photo: STR/AFP

He was also seen driving a military vehicle carrying a 240mm multiple launch rocket system, a “technically updated version” that had tested shells the day before.

“In order to mass produce multiple launch rocket systems of our type with high efficiency and reliability in large quantities, it is important to constantly improve the level of modernization of production processes,” Kim was quoted as saying by the South Korean company Yonhap.

It is widely believed that increasing the artillery force, including the production of these 240mm multiple launch rocket systems, could attract a foreign buyer. Photo: KCNA/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Young Wook, a military analyst at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. , told NK News that coverage of his visit could be aimed at attracting foreign buyers from countries such as Russia, Iran or Syria, adding that Moscow may be interested in 240mm missiles due to their compatibility with existing weapons.

The South Korean Defense Ministry believes Pyongyang has sent about 6,700 containers of weapons to Russia since the two leaders pledged to deepen ties at a summit last September.

South Korean Defense Ministry indicated that this number of containers would be enough to contain about 3 million rounds of 152mm artillery shells or 500,000 rounds of 122mm artillery shells.

The South's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said on Sunday it was investigating North Korean 122mm artillery shells are suspected to have been produced in the 1970s. supplied to Russia for the war in Ukraine.