On April 22 the Korean People’s Army conducted its first ever known drills simulating a nuclear counterattacks and the use of the country’s “system of command, management, control and operation of the whole nuclear force,” which included the country’s nuclear launch trigger the “Haekbangashoe.” The exercises involved the country’s KN-25 rocket artillery systems that can be fitted with nuclear warheads. Attending the exercises, the chairman of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party Kim Jong Un expressed satisfaction with the training seen and praised the readiness of the “world’s best” tactical nuclear weapons, noting that the precision guided rocket systems were each as accurate as a “sniper’s rifle.” He said the drill was crucial for “preparing our nuclear force to be able to rapidly and correctly carry out their important mission of deterring a war and taking the initiative in a war in any time and any sudden situation.”
The exercise saw KN-25 rocket systems fire on simulated targets 352 kilometres away in the Sea of Japan – known in Korea as the East Sea. It was the latest in a long series of exercises since mid-March which have tested different areas of North Korea’s armed forces, including at least two armoured warfare drills, a very large scale simulation of conventional artillery strikes, paratrooper assaults, and infantry advances among several others. The country has during this period also unveiled and test launched new weapons systems including long range surface to air missiles, cruise missiles with oversized warheads, and the world’s first intermediate range hypersonic glide vehicle. While the North Korean nuclear arsenal was initially focused on deterring the United States through the ability to strike the American mainland, the exacerbation of tensions with the U.S. and worsening of relations with South Korea under a new administration in Seoul has led Pyongyang to also demonstrate a tactical nuclear attack capability against military targets in the south.
The KN-25 is a particularly outstanding weapons system in the North Korean arsenal, and having first entered service in 2019 it today boasts the second longest range in the world at 400km – surpassed only by the larger PCL191 system fielded in neighbouring China. This range is considerably longer than many classes of tactical ballistic missile, and allows for saturation of targets in ways that more costly ballistic missiles cannot achieve. At a ceremony for the delivery of new KN-25 units in January 2023, Chairman Kim Jong Un observed regarding the role of the KN-25: “These will serve their militant mission to overwhelmingly subdue their enemies, as our armed forces’ main offensive weapon… These armed equipment that the munitions working level presented to the Party and the revolution today are … equipped with great capabilities to overcome topographies, manoeuvrability, as well as ambush multiple-launch precision attack capabilities.”