North Korea Boasts New Rocket Technology: What It Means for Regional Stability

Unlike existing shells, they have control wings
Targeting the metropolitan area, their accuracy and range were improved

North Korea announced on the 12th that it had successfully test-fired new 240 mm-caliber controllable multiple rocket launcher shells. North Korea’s 240 mm-caliber controllable multiple rocket launcher shells constitute a significant weapon aimed at Seoul and the metropolitan area. If they have been successfully guided, there is a high possibility that their range has increased and their accuracy has improved. The Korean Central News Agency reported, “The Academy of National Defense Science in North Korea carried out a test firing of 240 mm-caliber controllable multiple rocket launcher shells on the 11th to evaluate their accuracy and verify their superiority,” adding, “The development of the 240 mm-caliber controllable multiple rocket launcher shells and the ballistic control system will qualitatively change our military’s multiple rocket launcher capabilities.”

Under the direction of Kim Jong Un, North Korea has also been pushing for guidance (control) for multiple rocket launchers less than 240mm. Leader Kim encouraged, “The realization of the guidance of 122 mm- and 240 mm-caliber multiple rocket launcher shells is a significant change in modern warfare preparation,” during his visit to a production factory of shells for multiple rocket launcher shells in August last year.

The multiple rocket launchers possessed by North Korea include 122, 240, 300, and 600 mm- caliber numerous rocket launchers, and it is assumed that guidance has already been achieved for multiple rocket launchers with large caliber of 300 mm or more.

This is the first time North Korea has announced that it has successfully test-fired for the guidance of 240 mm-caliber multiple rocket launcher shells. Looking at the photos reported by the Korean Central News Agency, the new 240 mm-caliber controllable multiple rocket launcher shells fired on the 11th are equipped with control wings, unlike the existing multiple rocket launcher shells without guidance functions.

Shin Seung Ki, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis, analyzed in a phone call with Aju Business Daily, “Multiple rocket launcher shells are propelled in the beginning, but when the fuel is gone, they fly by inertia without additional propulsion. Seeing that the new 240 mm-caliber multiple rocket launcher shells unveiled by North Korea have control wings, they wanted to guide the target precisely using the control wings in the final terminal stage.”

He said that it is uncertain whether it has a GPS guidance function, “I can’t say for sure just by looking at the pictures, but the technology itself is not difficult, so it’s entirely possible.”

Research Fellow Shin added, “The effective range of the new 240 mm-caliber multiple rocket launcher shells is 60 – 70 km, and it cannot be evaluated as more aggressive because it is smaller than before,” and “The reason for the miniaturization is interpreted as North Korea intending to use it for precision strikes.”

However, he judged, “If you precisely guide 240 mm-caliber multiple rocket launcher shells and fire them with about 100- to 200-kg shells, you can destroy a small house in Seoul, but it costs a lot to do so precisely,” and “I don’t think North Korea is in a position to invest that much cost at the moment.”

He added, “It’s difficult to hit a building directly with 240 mm-caliber multiple rocket launcher shells,” and “Technically, we are in a more advanced state.”

Earlier on the 11th, our military detected multiple rocket launcher shells fired by North Korea from near Nampo in Pyongannam-do towards the West Sea. The source explained, “The flight distance was tens of kilometers, not close to 100 km.”