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N. Korean leader calls for more precise rockets

November 3, 2015

SEOUL (Yonhap) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered a further development of “modern and precise” anti-aircraft rockets as he watched a firing drill in a western front-line area, Pyongyang’s state media reported Tuesday.

“He underlined the need for the field of national defense science to more dynamically develop various types of new anti-aircraft rockets suited to the demand of a modern war so as to firmly defend the blue sky of the homeland from any air strike of enemies,” said the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

It did not specify the timing and location of the training conducted by anti-aircraft units deployed on the western sector of the inter-Korean border.

Kim instructed the military and scientists to step up efforts to “modernize rockets and ensure their precision,” the KCNA added.

On Monday, South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his American counterpart, Ashton Carter, announced a set of four major operational guidelines for countering North Korea’s missile attacks after their talks in Seoul.

Under the so-called 4D strategy, the allies said they will swiftly “detect, defense, disrupt and destroy” the North’s missiles if needed.

North Korea watchers noted the timing of the North’s report.

“I think the military training was held before (the Han-Carter talks). But North Korea released a relevant report just after that,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies. “It seems to be strategically intended to counter the South Korea-U.S. coordination.”