South Korea and North Korea have continued to pour resources into modernizing their militaries despite a frenzy of diplomacy since 2018, creating tension that has sharpened as talks have stalled.
Military buildups on both sides of the heavily fortified border have come to the forefront with recent short-range missile launches by North Korea, perfecting an arsenal that it says is necessary to defend against new South Korean weapons.
On Wednesday, North Korean state media reported that leader Kim Jong Un had on Tuesday personally supervised the test-firing of a large multiple-rocket launch system, a type of weapon that analysts say threatens forces in South Korea.