North Korea tests new ‘super-large’ multiple rocket launcher

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un has supervised a test-firing of what it calls “newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher.”

This Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019, photo provided Sunday, Aug. 25, by the North Korean government, shows the test firing of an unspecified missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea. North Korea fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Saturday in the seventh weapons launch in a month, South Korea’s military said, a day after it vowed to remain America’s biggest threat in protest of U.S.-led sanctions on the country. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: “KCNA” which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

The Korean Central News Agency says Saturday’s weapons test was successful and cited Kim as saying the rocket launcher is “indeed a great weapon.”

The report likely referred to the projectile launches that South Korea detected on Saturday morning.

South Korea’s military said North Korea fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast and that they flew about 380 kilometers (236 miles) at the maximum altitude of 97 kilometers (60 miles).

North Korea has been pushing to develop powerful multiple rocket launch systems, whose projectiles show missile-like flight distance and trajectory.

The latest launches were the seventh weapons test by North Korea in a month. /gsg