North Korea says it developed new rocket launcher controller

North Korea on Monday said it developed new controllable shell and ballistic control system for multiple rocket launcher, state news agency KCNA reported.

The Academy of Defense Science conducted a "ballistic control" test firing of 240 mm-caliber controllable multiple rocket launcher shells on Sunday.

The KCNA said the development of the multiple rocket launcher shell and its ballistic control system will make a "qualitative change in our army's multiple rocket launcher force."

It said it will help reevaluate the "strategic value and utility of the 240 mm-caliber rocket launcher and increase the role of such a weapon in battlefields."

Amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Pyongyang has conducted several weapons tests in the new year, including launches of cruise missiles from sea and land.