The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that last Saturday's drill involved selected military units from five artillery and missile units and featured what it described as new combat systems including various attack drones, tactical cruise missiles, large-caliber thermobaric multiple rocket launchers and tactical ballistic missiles.
North Korea claimed that all weapons involved in the "joint firepower attack drill of long-range artillery and missile units of the combined units" successfully struck their designated targets.
With the release of a slew of photos, KCNA said the purpose of the drill was to ensure that the military "does what it is supposed to do," quoting Pak Jong-chon, a top-ranking official from the North's Workers' Party, who observed the exercise. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the drill.
Earlier, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) here said it detected multiple ballistic missiles launched from Wonsan, Kangwon Province toward the East Sea at around 5:20 a.m. last Saturday.
The JCS assessed that the launch involved short-range ballistic missiles believed to be from the Hwasong-11 series, as well as 600-millimeter multiple rocket launchers. It came just a day after South Korea concluded its annual trilateral "Freedom Edge" exercise with Japan and the U.S.
The latest missile provocation marked the fourth such launch in about a month, following previous launches on Aug. 6, Aug. 12 and Aug. 20.
AJP Takeaways
- North Korea conducted a large-scale joint artillery and missile drill on Sept. 12, 2026, involving selected military units from five artillery and missile units and various weapons systems, including attack drones, tactical cruise missiles, thermobaric multiple rocket launchers and tactical ballistic missiles.
- South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff detected multiple ballistic missile launches from Wonsan, Kangwon Province, at around 5:20 a.m. on Sept. 12, 2026. The launches were assessed to involve short-range ballistic missiles believed to be from the Hwasong-11 series and 600-millimeter multiple rocket launchers.
- The Sept. 12, 2026, launches marked North Korea's fourth missile provocation in about a month, following launches on Aug. 6, Aug. 12 and Aug. 20, and came one day after South Korea concluded the annual trilateral "Freedom Edge" exercise with the United States and Japan.
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