North Korea on Wednesday tested a mix of tactical ballistic missiles, artillery rockets and AI-guided precision cruise missiles designed for modern warfare, according to state news agency KCNA.The tests came a day after South Korea’s military said it had detected the launch of multiple projectiles, including a ballistic missile. The projectile reportedly traveled about 80 kilometers before landing in the Yellow Sea.KCNA said the launches were conducted to assess the power of “special mission warheads” mounted on tactical ballistic missiles, the reliability of long-range multiple-launch artillery rockets and the accuracy of AI-guided tactical cruise missiles.According to the state agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said, “The tests specifically confirmed the combat readiness of the cruise missiles that will be deployed in artillery units near the border with South Korea, which are equipped with precise navigation and AI-guided control that can attack targets at a distance of 100 km (62 miles).”He said, “It is an essential condition for our military operations that it must have such destructive power as to make it theoretically impossible for any encountering force to survive except by luck.”Analysts said the latest tests signal Pyongyang’s intention to strengthen its precision-strike capabilities below the nuclear threshold.“With the latest launch, Pyongyang is signaling that it intends to deploy such a weapon system in the event of war,” said Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul. “It unleashes precise, long-range, self-propelled conventional firepower that is capable of striking the South even below nuclear range,” he said.According to Hong, North Korea’s claims probably refer to an upgraded version of an existing digital guidance system integrated with automatic target identification technology. The weapon system reportedly combines tactical cruise missiles, guided multiple-launch rocket systems and tactical ballistic missiles into a single precision-strike complex.According to Reuters, North Korea has supplied Russia with ballistic missiles and artillery rockets since late 2023, which Moscow is believed to have used in the war in Ukraine. Analysts believe battlefield use of those weapons has provided Pyongyang with valuable operational data to improve its missile arsenal.In April, Pyongyang conducted its eighth weapons test of the year to “verify the characteristics and power of a cluster bomb warhead,” state media reported at the time.