[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] North Korea, This Time Exporting New Type of Rocket Artillery Shell?

Development of New 240mm Rocket Projectile Following 122mm... Large-Scale Production Anticipated

There are speculations that North Korea will export new 240mm rocket artillery shells to Russia following the 122mm ones. If North Korea develops guided rocket artillery shells, a new weapon mounted on the 240mm rocket artillery (the North Korean term for multiple launch rocket systems), it could also raise the threat level against South Korea.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency on the 13th, Chairman Kim Jong Un conducted on-site guidance at key defense industry enterprises under the Second Economic Committee on the 11th and 12th, personally test-driving vehicles equipped with the new 240mm rocket artillery, and ordered the expansion of weapons system production and strengthening of artillery combat capabilities.

In February, North Korea's National Defense Science Institute developed a new 240mm rocket artillery shell equipped with guidance capabilities. Subsequently, on the 25th of last month, Chairman Kim observed the inspection firing of 240mm rocket artillery shells produced at defense industry enterprises, and on the 10th of this month, during on-site guidance, he reviewed the 240mm rocket artillery weapons system and watched the test firing of guided rocket artillery shells.

The 240mm rocket artillery is a weapons system often mentioned when North Korea raises its "Seoul will be a sea of fire" threat, with the maximum range of existing shells known to be 60 km. If it is true that North Korea succeeded in equipping existing shells with GPS-guided control fins to enable guidance, it is expected that both range and accuracy have improved.

Shin Jong-woo, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defense & Security Forum, analyzed photos from North Korean media reports and stated, "Two types of new 240mm guided rocket artillery shells under development by North Korea have been confirmed." He noted that the shells appearing during the inspection firing on the 25th of last month had short guidance sections and control fins, whereas the shells appearing during the test firing on the 10th of this month had longer guidance sections and control fins, analyzing that "this seems to be an improvement of the guidance device to increase the range."

The reason Chairman Kim is accelerating the performance upgrade of the 240mm rocket artillery shells appears to be an intention to gain economic benefits through the military industry, triggered by Russia's invasion war in Ukraine. Experts analyze that North Korea, which is exporting 122mm rocket artillery shells and others to Russia, is seeking to expand its export items to include the 240mm rocket artillery.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.