North Korean howitzers spotted near southern border amid increasing tensions

North Korea has reportedly moved several self-propelled howitzers near its southern border after threatening to deploy offensive military assets there. North Korea’s Kaesong Heights is viewed from the Peace House on the South Korean side of the Joint Security Area, Sept. 19, 2025. (Brendan Trembath/U.N. Command) North Korea has reportedly moved several self-propelled howitzers near its southern border after threatening last week to deploy offensive military assets there. Three south-facing howitzers appear to be positioned along the coast of Kaepung county, across the border from South Korea, according to photos published Sunday by Yonhap News Agency. The images were taken from the Aegibong Observatory in Gimpo, roughly 31 miles northeast of Seoul and about one mile from North Korean territory, the report said.

The North appears to be “deploying and exposing its older artillery pieces along coastal areas,” South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Capt. Jang Do-young said Tuesday at a press briefing in Seoul. He did not explicitly confirm the Yonhap report. The South Korean military is closely monitoring the North’s movements and is “maintaining a firm military readiness posture to respond to any provocations,” a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense told Stars and Stripes in a text message Tuesday. He also declined to confirm the Yonhap report. Some South Korean government officials must speak to