Who Has the Power
North Korea said Wednesday its latest launches involved multiple weapons systems, including a nuclear-capable cruise missile that leader Kim Jong Un plans to deploy with front-line units facing South Korea, as he continues expanding his military capabilities. The announcement, carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency, put the machinery of the state front and center: Kim supervised Tuesday’s tests, and the weapons on display included ballistic missiles with new warheads designed for battlefield nuclear use, nuclear-capable cruise missiles guided by artificial-intelligence technology, and 240-millimeter rocket artillery equipped with “ultra-precision” navigation systems.
South Korea’s military did not immediately comment on the North Korean claims. But the report from North Korean state media came a day after South Korea’s military said it detected the North launching multiple projectiles, including at least one close-range ballistic missile, toward its western waters. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile flew about 80 kilometers (50 miles) but didn’t specify other types of weapons involved. North Korea launched other kinds of projectiles, it said, but didn’t elaborate. South Korean media, citing the military, reported the other weapons systems mobilized included multiple rocket launch systems. The reports said the simultaneous launches of different kinds of weapons were likely meant to test an ability to evade South Korean and U.S. defenses.
Who Pays for the Fortress
KCNA said Kim expressed satisfaction with the tests, particularly the performance of cruise missile systems intended for deployment with front-line long-range artillery units near the border with South Korea. He called for faster efforts to modernize and strengthen his artillery forces so that “no one can match,” the agency said. The people living under that border regime are not the ones making the decisions; the state is. The frontier is being turned into what Kim described last week as “an impregnable fortress,” a state goal discussed during a meeting with military commanders.
Kim has sped up efforts to modernize North Korea’s nuclear and missile arsenal since his diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019, now the seventh year. He has also adopted a hard line toward South Korea, which he declared as his country’s “most hostile enemy” and moved to sever longstanding inter-Korean ties. The language of permanent confrontation keeps the military apparatus fed while ordinary people remain on the receiving end of decisions made at the top.
The Great Power Game
Kim’s foreign policy focus has increasingly shifted toward Russia, which has received thousands of North Korean troops and large shipments of conventional weapons to support its war in Ukraine. He has also sought closer ties with China, North Korea’s main ally and economic lifeline, while portraying Pyongyang as part of a broader front against Washington. The state’s military expansion is not presented as a local matter alone, but as part of a larger alignment of rulers, armies, and strategic interests.
Trump has repeatedly said he wants to revive diplomacy with Kim, but Pyongyang has ignored those overtures and insisted Washington abandon demands for North Korea’s nuclear disarmament as a precondition for talks. The familiar ritual of summit talk and diplomatic posturing remains intact, while the weapons programs continue to advance. The apparatus keeps moving, the border keeps hardening, and the people below are left to live inside the consequences.
What the Launches Show
The North Korean report said Tuesday’s tests featured ballistic missiles with new warheads designed for battlefield nuclear use, nuclear-capable cruise missiles guided by artificial-intelligence technology, and 240-millimeter rocket artillery with “ultra-precision” navigation systems.
South Korea’s military said it detected multiple projectiles, including at least one close-range ballistic missile, and said the missile flew about 80 kilometers (50 miles).
South Korean media, citing the military, reported the other weapons systems mobilized included multiple rocket launch systems.
KCNA said Kim wants faster modernization and strengthening of artillery forces so that “no one can match.”
Kim has moved to sever longstanding inter-Korean ties and called South Korea his country’s “most hostile enemy.”