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Autonomous ruler Kim Jong Un during a weapons test

Photo: KCNA / REUTERS

On Monday, North Korea carried out its first missile test in months.

The action was probably intended as a signal to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was visiting Seoul at the same time.

Now the regime in the north is stepping up.

As the state news agency KCNA reports, multiple rocket launchers were tested in the west of the isolated country.

Including “newly equipped, super-large” specimens, as the agency announced on Tuesday.

Photos show dictator Kim Jong Un watching the firing through binoculars.

As is common with recordings from North Korea, the authenticity and time of recording cannot be independently verified.

According to the information, the tested missiles will be aimed, among other things, at the South Korean capital Seoul.

According to information from Pyongyang, the 600-millimeter systems could also be equipped with nuclear warheads.

On Monday, North Korea fired several ballistic missiles toward the sea, according to its southern neighbor.

The Japanese coast guard also reported the launch of what was believed to be a ballistic missile by North Korea.

Japan later said it had detected a second ballistic missile launch from North Korea.

Both fell into the sea outside its exclusive economic zone.

Japan strongly condemned the launches.

More weapons tests as a signal in the election year?

Pyongyang's show of force coincided with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Seoul to attend the Summit for Democracy conference hosted by President Yoon Suk-yeol that begins on Monday.

The armed forces of South Korea and the United States had held large-scale joint military exercises for 10 days until last Thursday.

On Sunday, the South Korean military also mobilized Marines, attack helicopters and amphibious vehicles to increase troop levels and reinforce western islands near the maritime border with North Korea that were bombed by North Korea in 2010.

There will be elections this year in both the USA and South Korea.

Observers fear that the North could use this as an opportunity for further and larger demonstrations of military force.

jok/AP