Kim Jong Un orders North Korea artillery reorganization around long range rocket forces.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a major munitions enterprise producing multiple rocket launcher systems and ordered a fundamental transformation of the country’s artillery forces, according to state media. The move elevates long-range rocket artillery as a core strike capability for both conventional and nuclear missions, underscoring Pyongyang’s push to formalize a new defense buildup at the upcoming Workers’ Party congress.

Kim Jong-un has directed North Korea’s military to reorganize its artillery forces around long-range rocket systems, a shift that state media described as central to future conventional and nuclear strike plans. The inspection of a major munitions industry enterprise producing multiple rocket launcher systems took place on December 28 and was publicly reported on December 30 by official outlets, as Pyongyang steps up preparations for the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, where a new phase of defense development is expected to be endorsed.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

The system in question is widely believed to be the 600 mm multiple rocket launcher, a heavy rocket artillery platform that occupies a doctrinal space between traditional MLRS and short-range ballistic missiles (Picture source: KCNA).

During the visit, Kim reviewed the production of multiple rocket launcher vehicles slated for deployment with key units of the Korean People’s Army and emphasized that the system would completely reshape the structure and combat role of North Korea’s artillery arm. State media quoted him as describing the launcher as the main strike means of the armed forces, capable of executing concentrated and surprise attacks with high precision and devastating power. His repeated reference to its strategic offensive role strongly suggests that the system is intended for both nuclear and conventional strike missions, aligning with Pyongyang’s emerging nuclear-conventional integration doctrine.

The multiple rocket launcher referenced by state media is assessed to be the KN-25, also designated KN-625, a super-large caliber multiple launch rocket system firing 600 mm rockets that occupies a doctrinal space between traditional MLRS and short-range ballistic missiles. The KN-25 is mounted on a tracked chassis featuring an armored crew cab at the front and a rear-mounted launch module consisting of two rows of three launcher tubes, each designed to fire massive 600 mm rockets. The tracked platform employs a suspension system with ten double road wheels on each side, providing high mobility across rugged terrain and enabling rapid repositioning after launch.

First revealed publicly in 2019, the 600 mm KN-25 immediately drew the attention of defense analysts due to its unprecedented caliber and range, which blurred the line between rocket artillery and tactical ballistic missile systems. Since its debut, North Korea has conducted numerous test launches demonstrating progressive improvements in range, accuracy, and salvo-firing capability. These developments are widely assessed as part of a deliberate strategy to field a precision-strike weapon that is more economical and deployable than conventional ballistic missiles while retaining comparable destructive potential.

Technically, the KN-25 is believed to fire precision-guided 600 mm rockets with a maximum range of up to 380 kilometers, allowing North Korean forces to strike key military and infrastructure targets across the entire Korean Peninsula. The rockets are guided by inertial navigation systems, which may be supplemented by satellite guidance, and are designed to achieve accuracy within tens of meters of their intended targets. This precision enables targeted strikes against airfields, command and control centers, logistics hubs, radar sites, and missile defense installations, rather than reliance on indiscriminate area bombardment.

In addition to the tracked variant now confirmed to be entering mass production, the 600 mm KN-25 is also deployed in a wheeled transporter-erector-launcher configuration equipped with four launch tubes. This wheeled version emphasizes high-speed road mobility and rapid redeployment, allowing launch units to evade surveillance and pre-emptive strikes. The KN-25’s quasi-ballistic trajectory and high terminal velocity significantly complicate interception efforts, presenting challenges for missile defense systems such as the U.S. Patriot PAC-3 and THAAD batteries deployed in South Korea.

Kim expressed satisfaction with the production capacity of the inspected factory, praising what he described as the successful indigenous manufacture of an operational-tactical weapon system with unmatched military effectiveness. He emphasized that maintaining a solid and expandable production capacity would be crucial to meeting the munitions production goals to be announced at the upcoming party congress. The emphasis on sustained output strongly suggests an intent to field the 600 mm KN-25 in large numbers, enabling saturation attacks designed to overwhelm missile defenses through both volume and precision.

The inspection was attended by senior figures central to North Korea’s missile and artillery programs, including Workers’ Party Secretary Jo Chun-ryong, Minister of National Defence No Kwang-chol, First Vice Department Director Kim Jeong-sik of the Munitions Industry Department, and Missile General Bureau Director Jang Chang-ha. Their presence highlights the growing institutional integration between rocket artillery and missile forces within Pyongyang’s strike architecture.

Recent state media footage of Kim supervising joint strike drills involving the 600 mm KN-25 and the Hwasongpho-11GA tactical ballistic missile further reinforces assessments that North Korea is moving toward a fully integrated nuclear and conventional strike framework. In this construct, the KN-25 serves as a flexible, survivable, and rapidly employable main strike weapon, complementing ballistic missiles while lowering the threshold for escalation.

As North Korea continues an intensive cycle of military inspections and weapons demonstrations at the close of 2025, the elevation of the 600 mm KN-25 to the role of the military’s principal strike system marks a significant doctrinal shift. No longer an experimental platform, the KN-25 has emerged as a central pillar of Pyongyang’s modern artillery doctrine, fundamentally altering the strategic calculus on the Korean Peninsula and presenting new challenges for U.S. and allied missile defense and counter-artillery planning.