North Korea Fires Missiles in Demonstration for Russia

North Korea on Tuesday test-fired multiple rocket launch system, according to state media, in what could have been a demonstration for Russia, which has been firing North Korean artillery in its war against Ukraine.

The test of the truck-mounted 240-millimeter missile launcher took place the day after South Korea reported that it believed the number of shipping containers carrying munitions to Russia had doubled since February.

Photos accompanying the Korean Central News Agency report show the new transporter erector launcher, which is reportedly in the production phase, firing rockets off the coast as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and defense officials look on.

The media outlet wrote that the platform, with its greater maneuverability and upgraded new missile guidance system, "proved to be advantageous in all indices" compared to the currently deployed artillery equipment that will be phased out as directed by Kim.

Newsweek contacted the North Korean Embassy in China outside of office hours for comment.

The Kim regime has conducted dozens of rocket tests since 2022 as it modernizes its military capabilities, including short- and medium-range missiles, some of which it says are nuclear-capable, hypersonic missiles and cruise missiles.

Washington and Seoul have voiced concerns over the North Korean-Russian weapons trade.

In a report revealed to the public on Tuesday, South Korean intelligence said that more than 13,000 containers' worth of suspected arms, or enough to transfer more than 6 million 152-millimeter artillery shells, had been tracked heading for Russia from the North Korean port of Najin. That's twice the number of shipping containers Seoul's defense ministry reported in February.

Moscow and Pyongyang have denied that the weapons transfers have taken place, though Ukraine has reported North Korean missiles being used in the country, including in attacks on civilians such as one that killed a father and his young son in Kyiv earlier this month.

Russian and North Korea have publicly moved to deepen military and diplomatic ties.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in June paid a state visit to North Korea, his first to the country in 24 years. During Putin's stay, he and Kim signed a military cooperation agreement that pledged aid in the event either is attacked.

South Korea condemned the pact and threatened to reconsider its policy of not furnishing Ukraine with weapons.

Earlier this year, Russia used its veto in the United Nations Security Council to terminate a panel of experts monitoring U.N. sanctions on the reclusive country.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry with a written request for comment.

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