Analysts said there were internal reasons that led North Korea to announce last week the testing of a "super-modern tactical weapon," even as it is in talks with the United States to end its nuclear program.
Analysts said the discovery of such weapons at this time is "reassuring the army" - especially during the talks between North Korea and the United States, which paves the way for Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons - as well as the modernization of conventional weapons.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un witnessed the test of the new weapon, which could be a "steel wall," but did not give details of the weapon, state media reported on Friday.
It was the first time the leader had attended a weapons test this year, which could complicate stalled nuclear talks with the United States, although Washington and Seoul have played down the importance of this development in an effort to keep the course of negotiations going.
Conversion of weapons
Experts say the test was conducted as part of Kim's initiative to transform the core of the army's traditional military strength of about 1.3 million soldiers into highly developed weapons.
"This is like the North Korean version of military reform," said Choi Kang, vice president of the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul.
"If we can find an indirect message to the outside world," he said, "they do not underestimate us.
The new advanced weapons will become more important if North Korea gives up at least part of its nuclear arsenal.
Although Seoul and Washington defense spending outweighs Pyongyang's sanctioned spending, the deployment of multiple artillery, artillery and artillery systems in advanced positions in the northern part poses a major threat to them.
The North Korean army has about 5,500 multi-missile artillery units, 4,300 tanks, 2,500 armored vehicles, 810 fighter planes, 430 combat ships and 70 submarines, according to the 2016 South Korean Defense Ministry estimates.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said last week it had discovered at least 13 undeclared missile bases inside North Korea.
The center added that Pyongyang is developing hubs for its 200,000-strong special forces as part of its military modernization campaign.
Kim is demanding the modernization of production lines in ammunition factories and the change of weapons and antique technology since taking office in late 2011.
The two Koreas agreed at a summit in September to reduce military tensions along their border, and the Ministry of Defense in the south said the northern side began to neutralize artillery units along the west coast.
To reassure those concerned about Korea
But the agreement did not include the removal of any units of multiple missile artillery, and Seoul could still be in the range of rocket and artillery shells.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a military source familiar with intelligence as saying that the newly tested weapon was a new model of multi-rocket artillery, while other experts suggested it might be a new short-range missile.
Kim Dung-yup, a military expert at the Institute of Far East Studies at the University of Keongnam, said Kim may try the new weapon to reassure hard-line military leaders and people who may be concerned about a future free of nuclear weapons.
