Pyongyang, North Korea - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un toured a factory making new multiple rocket launchers that could target the South, touting their ability to "annihilate the enemy," state media reported Tuesday.

With the two countries technically still at war, "saturation" strikes by North Korea's vast artillery arsenal have long been thought to be central to its strategy should conflict break out.

A 2020 study by the RAND think tank assessed that North Korean artillery systems could inflict 10,000 casualties in just an hour if targeting major population centers like the South Korean capital Seoul.

Kim's visit to the factory was reported a day after Pyongyang said it had carried out a test-fire of two strategic long-range cruise missiles in a show of "combat readiness" against external threats.

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Accompanied by top officials from North Korea's missile program, Kim said the new weapons system would serve as his military's "main strike means", according to the Korean Central News Agency.

He also said they could have uses in a "strategic attack" – typically a euphemism for nuclear use.

Kim described the new multiple rocket system as a "super-powerful weapon system as it can annihilate the enemy through sudden precise strikes with high accuracy and devastating power," KCNA said.

The system would be "used in large quantities for concentrated attack in military operations", state media added.

State media images showed Kim standing next to the massive new missile systems in a vast factory with propaganda on the walls.

North Korea, which has also significantly stepped up missile testing in recent years, is set to hold a landmark congress of its ruling party in early 2026 – the first in five years.

Economic and military planning are likely to be high on the agenda.

Ahead of that meeting, Kim ordered the "expansion" and modernization of the country's missile production and the construction of more factories to meet growing demand.