North Korea Deploys New Long-Range Rocket Launchers: Newspaper

“SEOUL (Kyodo) — North Korea has deployed an improved, longer-range version of its 240 mm multiple rocket launcher, a South Korean newspaper reported Tuesday, citing military sources.

The Chosun Ilbo said North Korea is expected to unveil the rocket launchers during a parade to mark the centennial of founder Kim Il Sung’s birthday April 15.

North Korea spent several years trying to improve the rocket launchers and has now completed the work. To test the upgraded version, it reportedly imported 300 mm shells from Russia and test-fired them for years off the west coast.

As for the range of the new rocket launchers, some experts speculate that they have a range of more than 120 kilometers. That would put the entire Seoul metropolitan area, including U.S. bases in surrounding provinces, within their range. The old models have a range of 60 km that puts Seoul and Chuncheon in Gangwon Province within their range when fired from the front-line Demilitarized Zone.

But others say their range is less than 100 km. Most rocket launchers with a diameter of less 240 mm have a range of between 60 and 70 km. To strike a target more than 100 km away, they need a precision strike system using inertial navigation or GPS, and there is no evidence the North’s rocket launchers have such capabilities yet.

A source was quoted as saying, ‘North Korea is probably trying to threaten South Korea and the U.S. by making the rocket launchers public and use them as a propaganda material at home and abroad on Kim Il Sung’s centennial.'” Source – Mainichi Japan.