N Korea’s Kim unveils 50 rocket launchers ahead of key congress 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has unveiled dozens of nuclear-capable rocket launchers ahead of a key congress of the governing Workers’ Party, according to state media.

Kim hailed the 600mm-calibre rocket launchers as “wonderful” and “attractive” during the ceremony on Wednesday, adding that new military and construction goals will be set during the upcoming congress.

Fifty such ⁠launchers were presented by North Korean munitions workers, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Thursday.

“When this weapon is used, actually, no force would be able to expect God’s protection,” Kim said, according to the KCNA

“It is really a wonderful and attractive weapon.”

Photos released by state media showed dozens of launch vehicles parked in neat rows on the plaza of Pyongyang’s House of Culture, which will host the congress.

The weapon was “appropriate for a special attack, that is, for accomplishing a strategic mission”, Kim said, using a common euphemism for nuclear weapons.

He said the weapons incorporate “AI technology and compound guidance systems” and would deter unnamed enemies.

Kim has been touting the progress of various projects ahead of this month’s 9th Congress of the Workers’ Party, which is widely viewed as North Korea’s most important political event.

Kim said on Wednesday that the 9th Congress “will declare the next phase of the self-reliant defence initiative” and accelerate the “project of constantly renewing our military capabilities” in order to “subdue any threats ⁠and challenges from outside forces”.

The political gathering is expected to lay out North Korea’s foreign policy, war planning and nuclear ambitions for the next five years.

State media have in recent days carried reports of delegates arriving for the gathering, fuelling speculation it could start any day.

The South Korean military is closely watching North Korea’s activities to develop weapons, a spokesperson for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Thursday.

Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told the AFP news agency that the launch system could fire rockets with an estimated range of 400 kilometres (250 miles), covering all of South Korea.

“Its primary purpose is to neutralise the combined air power of South Korea and the United States,” he said.

“If equipped with tactical nuclear warheads, a single battery firing four to five rounds could devastate an entire airbase.”

South Korea’s capital Seoul is less than 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the North Korean border at its nearest point.

North Korea has suspended nearly all talks and cooperation with South Korea since 2019, when Kim’s nuclear diplomacy with United States President Donald Trump derailed over US-led sanctions.

Relations worsened in recent years as Kim discarded North Korea’s longstanding goal of peaceful reunification and declared a hostile “two-state” system on the Korean Peninsula.

In a separate KCNA report on Thursday, the North Korean leader’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, acknowledged a South Korean minister’s apology regarding alleged civilian drone incursions, but said Pyongyang is bolstering border security against the “enemy”.

North Korea had said the incidents occurred in September of last year and again in January.

The South Korean government has denied operating any drones during the times specified by North Korea, but law enforcement authorities are investigating three civilians suspected of flying drones into the North from border areas.

Kim Yo Jong said ⁠it would be to South Korea’s benefit to prevent the recurrence of such severe infringement of North Korea’s sovereignty.

“The border with the enemy should be solid,” Kim Yo Jong said, according to KCNA.