Following North Korea's recent missile tests.... pundits believe that the North could be close to deploying three new weapons.<br />But with the Seoul-Washington joint military drills ending on Tuesday,... will North Korea put its missile testing on hold as well?<br />Oh Jung-hee has more.<br />North Korea seems set to deploy new types of short-range projectiles after a series of tests over the past few weeks.<br />On Saturday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that the regime tested a 'new weapon' the previous day and Kim Jong-un personally oversaw the launch.<br />The report didn't provide any details about the weapon itself, but revealed six photos of it, which showed the same 'new weapon' the regime tested the week prior.<br />The weapon is assessed by military experts as North Korea's version of ATACMS a surface-to-surface tactical missile system developed by the U.S.<br />It carries several hundred rounds of sub-munitions which can level an area as large as three to four soccer fields.<br />The North's test-fire of the 'new weapon' comes in addition to its tests of a new guided multiple rocket launcher... and a new short-range ballistic missile that resembles Russia's Iskander and has a pull-up maneuver.<br />Pyeongyang claims all the tests were successful, which points to the possibility that deployment of the weapons could be drawing near.<br />North Korea has stressed its recent missile tests are an eye-for-an-eye move against the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises.<br />Over the weekend, it once again emphasized it needs to deploy some "powerful physical means" to get counter potential threats.<br />But as the Seoul-Washington "Combined Command Post Training" wraps up on Tuesday, eyes fall on whether the North will stop missile testing as well.<br />South Korea's intelligence authorities say the North is carrying out back-to-back test-firings at this time, because it won't be able to... once working-level denuclearization talks with the U.S. get underway when the drills are over.<br />Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.<br />
