Reuters, SEOULNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed “great satisfaction” over the latest test of a large multiple-rocket launcher, state media said yesterday, a launch that experts said showcased improving performance by the system and its crews. The latest test of the so-called KN-25 missile came as a Thanksgiving Day reminder to the US of a year-end deadline that Kim has set for Washington to show flexibility in their stalled denuclearization talks. That capability makes it more likely that in case of a war, North Korean rocket crews could speedily deploy, fire and move before being targeted by South Korean or US forces, experts said. “The latest test indicated that the system was ready for mass production and deployment,” said Kim Dong-yub, a former South Korean Navy officer who teaches at Kyungnam University in Seoul. The year-end deadline was an artificial one, but could mean a return to “provocative” steps that preceded the past two years of diplomacy, US Special Representative to North Korea Stephen Biegun said last week.
