President Kim Jong-un ‘Oversees Test-Fire of Tactical Weapon’

President Kim Jong-un of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) (North Korea) has overseen the test-firing of a new type of “tactical guided weapon,” North Korean state media report, the first public test since the collapse of a second round of top-level negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang.

The country’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced in a report on Thursday that the test-firing had been personally overseen by Kim from an observation post.

The KCNA said that President Kim Jong-un “climbed the observation post to observe the new tactical guided weapons firing test plan and gave directions.”

The report added that the test, which was “conducted by various firing method[s] on… different targets, had perfectly proved the design specifications of this tactical guided weapon which is evaluated to be superior due to its special flight guidance method and powerful warheads.”

 The report did not specify the kind of the weapon tested or its potential range. There was also no indication that the test involved a nuclear detonation or an intercontinental ballistic missile since “tactical” implies a short-range weapon rather than a long-range armament, according to the KCNA.

The North Korean news outlet, however, said Kim had praised the weapon’s capabilities and described the event as having “very weighty significance.”

 “The development of the weapon system serves as an event of very weighty significance in increasing the combat power of the People’s Army,” Kim said, referring to the DPRK’s army. “I was often completely moved in admiration at the time of strategic weapons development, but seeing this, it seems our scientists, engineers and the labor class is truly great. If they are willing, then no weapon is beyond creation.”

H.M