North Korea unveils long-range artillery, plans destroyer launch this year

North Korea said it will field a new long-range artillery system this year that, if its range claim is accurate, could reach parts of the capital region around Seoul. It also said its first naval destroyer will be handed to the navy in coming weeks, a paired display of conventional firepower and political signaling aimed well beyond its borders.

Kim Jong Un inspected production of a new 155-millimeter self-propelled howitzer at a major munitions factory on May 6, according to KCNA, which said the weapon’s range exceeds 60 kilometers, or 37 miles. KCNA described it as a “new-generation artillery system” with improved mobility and firepower, and said it was intended for artillery units in the southern border area within this year. North Korea said additional operational and tactical missile systems, along with multiple rocket launchers, were also scheduled for deployment along the border.

The announcement matters less as a sudden leap in capability than as a reminder of how close Seoul already is to the frontier. The South Korean capital sits roughly 40 to 50 kilometers from the inter-Korean border and has about 10 million residents, which means a gun that can reliably reach beyond 60 kilometers could place the city and surrounding metropolitan areas in range. But North Korea already stations many artillery pieces near the Military Demarcation Line, so the new system appears designed as much to improve survivability, mobility and rate of response as to change the basic military map.

The gun was first unveiled in a military parade in October 2025, and analysts have said it appears aimed at narrowing the gap with South Korea’s K9 self-propelled howitzer, which has a range of slightly over 40 kilometers. That suggests an incremental arms competition rather than a decisive shift in the balance around Seoul, where counter-battery defenses, surveillance and readiness still shape the practical threat.

Separately, Kim rode on the destroyer Choe Hyon on May 7 to review its maneuverability off North Korea’s west coast and ordered authorities to hand it over to the navy in mid-June as scheduled. North Korea had already said it fired two strategic cruise missiles and three anti-ship missiles from the 5,000-ton ship during tests on April 12. With a second, third and fourth Choe Hyon-class destroyer reportedly under construction, Pyongyang is pairing its propaganda with a broader effort to build a more modern surface fleet, even if the near-term military effect remains far smaller than the headlines suggest.