North Korea has started the mass production of the world’s most powerful portable rocket launcher as global tensions continue to rise. The country has expanded its aresenal with the KN-25 to enhance the country’s long-range precision strike capabilities.

The KN-25 fires guided rockets capable of striking targets up to 380km away – a hybrid between a traditional multiple launch rocket system and tactical ballistic missile.

New pictures that surfaced on social media networks show North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, surrounded by various generals and military personel, inspecting the launcher systems at a facility.

The launcher, mounted on a tracked chassis, consists of two rows of three launcher tubes installed at the rear, each designed to fire huge 600mm rockets.

The vehicle’s suspension system includes 10 double road road wheels at each side which provides the launchers with great mobility across various rugged terrain, making it that more flexible on the battlefield.

This means North Korea will now be able to use, deploy and reposition these systems with agility, making them harder to detect and neutralise.

KN-25 rocket launchers are relatively new, first appearing in military parades and state media coverage around 2019.

Defence analysts, who studied the launcher, noted its characteristics blurred the lines between MLRS and tactical ballistic missile systems, and over the years it has undergone a number of tests with North Korea showcasing seismic improvements in range, accuracy and salvo-firing capability.

The emergence of the KN-25 could be a serious threat to both South Korea and US forces on the peninsula.

Unlike older systems with limited range and accuracy, its much improved reach and precision makes it capable of targetting 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 field these launchers in large numbers, enabling attacks that could overwhelm missile defense batteries through sheer volume.

A serious new threat to South Korea and the West, with the fact the KN-25 is now in mass production meaning it is no longer a prototype and that it is now a central pillar of Pyongyang’s – the capital of North Korea – modern artillery, demanding the allied nations to conduct an urgent reassessment of their missile defense and counter-artillery strategies.