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  "path": "/2026/02/19/kim-jong-un-shows-off-50-new-rocket-launchers-designed-special-attack-26989049/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-19T09:10:11.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "News",
    "World",
    "Kim Jong Un",
    "Kim Yo-Jong",
    "North Korea",
    "South Korea",
    "US",
    "Donald Trump",
    "**check our news page**",
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  "textContent": "North Koeran leader Kim Jong Un driving a rocket artillery vehicle at a ceremony to unveil the new 600mm multiple launch rocket system in Pyongyang (Picture: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images)\n\n**North Korean leaderKim Jong Un got behind the wheel of a nuclear-capable rocket launcher at a ceremony in Pyongyang.**\n\nThe despot attended the event marking the presentation of 50 new 600mm-calibre multiple rocket launchers to the Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party.\n\nKim was quoted by state media as haling the ‘wonderful’ weapons, which are said to be equipped with AI and advanced guiding technologies tailored for ‘a special attack’ – seen as a thinly veiled nuclear threat.\n\nHe said the upcoming party congress will issue plans to expand the military’s nuclear capabilities. Kim already has various systems targeting the US and its allies in Asia.\n\nIn a separate statement, his sister Kim Yo Jong – widely seen as the second most powerful person in the country – said the North is bolstering border security against the ‘enemy’ South.\n\nNorth Korea has suspended nearly all talks and cooperation with the South since 2019, when Kim’s nuclear diplomacy with President Donald Trump derailed over US-led sanctions.\n\nRelations worsened in recent years as Kim discarded the North’s long-standing goal of peaceful reunification and declared a hostile ‘two-state’ system on the Korean Peninsula.\n\nA ceremony to unveil the new launchers (Picture: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images)\n\nKim said the rocket launchers have ‘virtually no difference from a high-precision ballistic missile in terms of precision and power’ (Picture: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images)\n\nKim attended a ceremony on Wednesday to mark the presenting of rocket launchers to the Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party(Picture: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images)\n\nPhotos from the ceremony show rows of launcher trucks lined up near the April 25th House of Culture, the venue of party congresses in 2016 and 2021.\n\nThe 600mm-caliber multiple rocket launchers were produced in two months, state media said.\n\nKim can bee seen admiring the launchers while surrounded by fawning officials clapping and waving flags.\n\nHe has been touting the progress of various projects ahead of this month’s Ninth Congress, the country’s biggest political gathering that reviews performance, sets new policy goals, and can bring leadership change.\n\nKim said they are ‘appropriate for a special attack, that is, for accomplishing a strategic mission’ (Picture: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images)\n\nThe ceremony in front of the April 25th Cultural Center in Pyongyang (Picture: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images)\n\n‘The Ninth Congress of our Party will declare the next phase of the self-reliant defence initiative and goal,’ said Kim in a speech at the rocket launcher ceremony, according to KCNA.\n\n‘The project of constantly renewing our military capabilities that can strongly subdue any threats and challenges from outside forces will accelerate.’\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe Ninth Congress may start as soon as Thursday or Friday this week, according to Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.\n\nSouth Korea’s defence ministry said on Wednesday it is reviewing a partial and unilateral restoration of a 2018 military agreement with North Korea by suspending some military activity along the border, including self-imposing a no-fly zone, through consultations with the United States.\n\n******Get in touch with our news team by emailing us atwebnews@metro.co.uk.******\n\n**For more stories like this,****check our news page**.\n\nComment now Comments  Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source ",
  "title": "Kim Jong Un shows off 50 new rocket launchers designed for ‘special attack’"
}