North Korean leader oversees long-range artillery drill

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a long-range artillery drill on Monday, state media KCNA said on Tuesday. Footage showed troops firing a multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), first seen last year and estimated by analysts to be about 400mm-450mm in caliber. While smaller than some of the other short-range missiles fired by North Korea last year, analysts said the large MLRS are still a type of ballistic missile, and therefore a potential violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Monday's launch was the first since North Korea fired what it called super-large multiple rocket launchers on Nov. 28 and follow a year-end deadline North Korea has put forth for the United States to drop its insistence on unilateral denuclearization by Pyongyang.