By Blessing Nweke
North Korea announced Friday that it will deploy new long-range artillery systems capable of striking the capital region of South Korea later this year and commission its first naval destroyer within weeks, signaling another escalation in tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
According to the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, leader Kim Jong Un visited a munitions factory Wednesday to inspect the production of 155-mm self-propelled gun-howitzers that will be stationed near the southern border before the end of the year.
KCNA reported that the artillery system has a striking range of more than 37 miles, putting much of the Seoul metropolitan area within reach. Kim said the new weapons would provide “a great change and advantage” in the army’s land operations and confirmed that additional missile systems and multiple rocket launchers would also be deployed along the border.
The announcement came days after South Korea revealed that North Korea’s revised constitution removed references to peaceful Korean reunification, formally embracing Kim’s push for a two-state system and declaring the South its permanent enemy.
North Korea already maintains a vast number of artillery systems near the border, posing a major threat to Seoul, a city of about 10 million residents located roughly 25 miles from the Demilitarized Zone.
KCNA also reported that Kim inspected the destroyer Choe Hyon off the country’s west coast Thursday and ordered officials to prepare the vessel for naval service by mid-June. The warship is North Korea’s largest and most advanced destroyer to date.
Photos released by state media showed Kim accompanied by his teenage daughter, whom South Korean intelligence officials have recently identified as a possible successor.
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