North Korea is likely to deploy a large-caliber multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) late this year, having completed the development of the weapon, South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Wednesday.

Last month, Pyongyang announced that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had inspected the final test fire of the 300-millimeter caliber rockets, which are equipped with an accurate guidance system, according to the Yonhap news agency.

"Recently, North Korea test-fired the system several times, through which, I believe, it has nearly completed the development... Under this assessment, I think North Korea will deploy the 300-mm MLRS as early as at the end of this year," Han told reporters, as quoted by the media outlet

In March, the South Korean National Defense Ministry said in its strategy that it was planning to develop ground-to-ground guided munitions in a response to threats posed by the North's MLRS.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated after North Korea successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test in early January and put a satellite into orbit a month later, violating UN Security Council resolutions and triggering condemnation from the international community.

Source: Sputnik News