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North Korea Announces Plan to Deploy New 155 mm Self-Propelled Howitzers by End of 2026
Kim Jong-un inspected production of the new self-propelled gun-howitzer during a May 6 factory visit and separately oversaw tests aboard the destroyer Choe Hyon. State media said the weapon, with a range exceeding 60 kilometers, will equip three battalions. Kim also ordered the Choe Hyon delivered to the navy by mid-June.
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North Korea plans to deploy a new self-propelled howitzer along its border with South Korea by the end of 2026, state media reported Friday. Kim Jong-un visited a munitions factory on May 6, 2026, to review production of a new-type 155 mm self-propelled gun-howitzer destined for three battalions. Those units are to be stationed at a long-range artillery unit along the southern border.
The self-propelled gun-howitzer has a striking range exceeding 60 kilometers. During the visit Kim Jong-un reaffirmed that the year 2026 will record an unprecedented upgrade in the course of struggle for bolstering up the national defense capability of the country.
He urged cadres to achieve signal successes every day through intensified efforts to strengthen military readiness, according to the Korean Central News Agency report published on May 8, 2026.
In a separate development the same day, Kim Jong-un visited the 5,000-ton warship Choe Hyon on May 7, 2026. He observed a maneuvering assessment test aboard the vessel ahead of its commissioning. Ju-ae accompanied Kim Jong-un on the inspection of the warship Choe Hyon.
Kim Jong-un boarded the destroyer Choe Hyon and took part in a navigation test in the Yellow Sea. He inspected the vessel's operational capabilities and combat readiness. Expressing satisfaction with construction progress, he ordered the warship Choe Hyon to be delivered to the navy by mid-June 2026.
Pyongyang has conducted a series of strategic cruise missile tests from the destroyer Choe Hyon. North Korea unveiled the Choe Hyon destroyer in April 2025. The Kang Kon destroyer was launched in June 2025.
