Anchor: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly inspected a test of a newly developed high-tech weapon. North Korean media said that the weapon is not a strategic missile but the news marks the first time in about a year that Kim has attended a weapon testing.
Kim Bum-soo has more. 

Report: As Washington and Pyongyang are failing to make headway in their nuclear negotiations, North Korean media say Kim Jong-un attended a testing of what they called a new high-tech, tactical weapon.

The North's Korean Central News Agency and other state media said Friday that Kim visited the national defense institute test site.

While calling the test "another display of rapidly-growing defense capabilities to the whole region," reports did not specify what kind of weapon it was.

They added, however, that Kim Jong-un's late father, Kim Jong-il, took the lead in the development of the weapon system.  

South Korean intelligence and military officials said Kim could have inspected a new multiple rocket launcher or a long-range artillery, adding they are working on identifying the weapon.

North Korean tactical rockets are in general a threat to the northern part of South Korea.

This marks the first time that Kim's inspection of an on-site weapon testing has been reported since November of last year when he attended the test-firing of the inter-continental ballistic missile "Hwasong-15." 

Amid concerns that the North could be further worsening the prospects for holding talks with the U.S., analysts pointed out that Pyongyang made it very clear that the new high-tech weapon is not a long-range strategic missile.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.