North Korea Unveils New 155mm Artillery and Fires Ballistic Missiles, Declaring Seoul Within Striking Range
On May 8, 2026, North Korean state media KCNA reported that leader Kim Jong Un had inspected a major munitions factory on May 6 and reviewed the production of a new 155mm self-propelled howitzer, announcing that three battalions' worth of the artillery system would be deployed to frontline long-range artillery units near the southern border within the year.
ASIA,POLITICS
Global N Press
5/12/20261 min read
On May 8, 2026, North Korean state media KCNA reported that leader Kim Jong Un had inspected a major munitions factory on May 6 and reviewed the production of a new 155mm self-propelled howitzer, announcing that three battalions' worth of the artillery system would be deployed to frontline long-range artillery units near the southern border within the year. The weapon system boasts a range exceeding 60 kilometers, placing the South Korean capital Seoul and the populous industrial province of Gyeonggi within direct striking distance, a capability that KCNA claimed would bring "significant transformation and advantage" to North Korean ground operations.
On the same day, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that North Korea had fired two short-range ballistic missiles from the Tongchon area in Gangwon Province into the East Sea between 11:59 a.m. and 12:18 p.m. local time, the latest in a blitz of launches that Washington and Seoul have warned could culminate in a seventh nuclear test. The launches came as South Korea and the United States concluded 12 days of amphibious naval drills and prepared for a major combined air exercise involving more than 200 fighter jets, maneuvers that Pyongyang condemned as rehearsals for invasion and justified its missile launches as necessary countermeasures.
On May 12, Kim inspected the new 5,000-ton destroyer "Choe Hyon," a vessel analysts believe is capable of carrying nuclear-tipped missiles, and ordered its delivery to the navy by mid-June. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol had earlier told parliament that Pyongyang appeared to have "already completed preparations for a seventh nuclear test," which would be the country's first since 2017. Analysts note that gridlock at the United Nations Security Council over sanctions enforcement has emboldened Pyongyang to intensify its weapons testing program, pushing tensions on the Korean Peninsula to their highest point in years.
