"Our military maintains a posture to respond strongly to North Korea's artillery provocations while constantly monitoring its weapons development and enhancing our deterrence and response capabilities," said Colonel Lee Sung-jun, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), in a regular press briefing on February 13.

The statement by the South Korean official came after North Korea announced on February 12 that it had developed a 240mm guided multiple rocket launcher to evaluate the accuracy and demonstrate the advantages of the new weapon.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected and monitored North Korea's test-fire and is analyzing its technical parameters with the United States.

The latest weapons test suggests a possible improvement in North Korea's 240mm multiple rocket launcher system, which is deployed near the border to target the vast South Korean capital area.

In August last year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited weapons factories and called the realization of control over 122mm and 240mm multiple launch rockets a "great revolution."