North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is living up to his "rocket man" nickname, with state-run media on Wednesday saying that the previous day's weapons test had been yet another of a "super-large multiple rocket launcher."
The North's official Korean Central News Agency said in a report that Kim had provided "field guidance" for the latest test — the North's eighth volley since late July and its 18th and 19th weapons tests this year. The report said the weapons test had been intended to measure "the time of combat deployment" for the weapon, suggesting the ramped-up pace of testing this year had not been mere "provocations," as some observers have claimed, but rather part of training and operationalizing systems that can be fielded soon.
Experts have said the diversity in launch sites of recent tests — Tuesday's took place in the country's west, with the rockets overflying its territory — also indicated the North was refining personnel and deployment readiness.