The 'steel wall' weapon and North Korea's message

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the testing of a new tactical weapon developed to become the country's "steel wall," North Korean media reported last weekend, without specifying the new weapon's specifications, according toReuters.

Experts say the tactical weapons test at the Academy of Defense Sciences is part of Kim Jong-un's plan to modernize his 1.3 million-strong military with high-tech weapons.Reutersreported on November 18.

"This can be seen as a military reform activity to send a message to the world not to underestimate the capabilities of North Korea's modernizing military," said Choi Kang, deputy director of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul.

Such advanced tactical weapons will play an increasingly important role in North Korea's military as it gives up part of its nuclear arsenal as part of a pledge made in summits with the leaders of the United States and South Korea.

Military experts say that nuclear weapons are not North Korea's only deterrent against the US-South Korea coalition. North Korea's forward-deployed artillery and multiple rocket launchers are capable of threatening and causing heavy damage to the coalition on the other side of the Demilitarized Zone.

The North Korean military is fielding about 5,500 rocket artillery, 4,300 main battle tanks, 2,500 armored vehicles, 810 jet fighters, 430 warships and 70 submarines, according to a 2016 report by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense.

According toYonhapThe tactical weapon tested by North Korea on November 16 is a new rocket artillery system, while some experts believe it is a short-range missile.

The Washington-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said North Korea has also modernized its military by developing hovercraft for its 200,000-strong special forces. The institute said North Korea still has about 13 undeclared missile bases.

"The defense industry should develop and produce powerful weapons and military equipment in our own way, in line with the country's self-reliance-oriented production structure, and modernize production lines with cutting-edge science and technology," Kim Jong-un said in his 2018 New Year's Message.

During a summit in September in Pyongyang, the leaders of the two Koreas agreed to reduce military tensions along their border. Under the agreement, North Korea agreed to withdraw artillery positions along its west coast toward South Korean-controlled islands, the site of a deadly 2010 artillery exchange. However, the agreement did not require North Korea to withdraw its multiple rocket launchers, which are deployed along the border and can reach the South Korean capital, Seoul.

The announcement of the test of a new weapon is a message from Kim Jong-un to his generals and the North Korean people that they do not need to worry about a future without nuclear weapons, said Kim Dong-yub, a military expert at Kyungnam University. "It is necessary for Kim Jong-un to strengthen confidence at home, even though it may lead to negative reactions from outside," he said.