North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday inspected the test-firing of 240 mm multiple launch rockets manufactured by a newly established defence industry unit, the North's KCNA news agency reported on Friday.
The report did not give further details of the unit that produced the artillery. North Korea is believed to be ramping up production of artillery amid allegations by the United States and South Korea that it is supplying Russia with weapons.
Both countries deny the allegation. The test firing showed the rockets met the required standards for flight characteristics and accuracy, KCNA said.
Kim said the 240 mm multiple launch rocket system, which incorporates new technology, will "bring about a strategic change in strengthening our military's artillery capabilities," according to KCNA.
In a separate report, KCNA said Kim visited the Kim Il Sung Military University, named after his grandfather and state founder, to mark the anniversary of the founding of the revolutionary army, the precursor to the country's military.
South Korea's top court cast doubt on Thursday on frontrunner Lee Jae-myung's eligibility to run for the presidency, while the resignations of the prime minister and finance minister shook the interim government in place since December's martial law.
US President Donald Trump ousted his national security adviser Mike Waltz on Thursday and named Secretary of State Marco Rubio as his interim replacement in the first major shakeup of Trump's inner circle since he took office in January.
Ukraine and the US have signed a deal heavily promoted by President Donald Trump that will give the US preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals and fund investment in Ukraine's reconstruction.
Schools were closed and flights cancelled as New Zealand's capital Wellington was hit by its strongest winds in over a decade on Thursday while a state of emergency was declared in parts of the South Island after 24 hours of heavy rain.
Increased looting of food stores and community kitchens in the Gaza Strip shows growing desperation as hunger spreads two months after Israel cut off supplies to the Palestinian territory, aid officials say.