North Korean leader Kim Jong Un(Image: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Image)North Korea has begun mass production of the world’s most powerful portable rocket launcher, the KN-25, amid escalating global tensions. This addition to its arsenal enhances the country’s long-range precision strike capabilities.
The KN-25 fires guided rockets that can hit targets up to 380km away, making it a hybrid between a traditional multiple launch rocket system and a tactical ballistic missile.
Recent images on social media show North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the launcher systems at a facility, surrounded by military personnel. The launcher, which is mounted on a tracked chassis, features two rows of three launcher tubes installed at the rear, each designed to fire massive 600mm rockets.
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Its suspension system includes 10 double road wheels on each side, providing the launchers with excellent mobility across various rugged terrains, increasing their flexibility on the battlefield.
This means North Korea can now deploy and reposition these systems quickly, making them harder to detect and neutralize. The KN-25 rocket launchers first appeared in military parades and state media coverage around 2019.
Defence analysts who have examined the launcher have noted that its features blur the lines between MLRS and tactical ballistic missile systems.
Over the years, it has undergone numerous tests, with North Korea demonstrating significant improvements in range, accuracy, and salvo-firing capability, reports the Express.
The rocket launchers are a huge boost for North Korea’s armed forces(Image: (Image: Getty))The KN-25’s emergence could pose a serious threat to both South Korea and US forces on the peninsula. Unlike older systems with limited range and accuracy, its enhanced reach and precision make it capable of targeting US military bases as far south as Busan, as well as key industrial and civilian centres in South Korea.
Its mass production means North Korea could deploy these launchers in large numbers, enabling attacks that could overwhelm missile defense batteries through sheer volume.
The KN-25 represents a serious new threat to South Korea and the West. The fact that it is now in mass production indicates that it is no longer a prototype and has become a central pillar of Pyongyang’s – the capital of North Korea – modern artillery.
This necessitates an urgent reassessment of missile defense and counter-artillery strategies by allied nations.