The North Korean leader calls for greater production of missiles, projectiles and more factories to produce them.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his officials to increase production of missiles and artillery shells and build more factories to meet his military's growing need for weapons, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
On a visit to ammunition plants accompanied by senior officials, Kim ordered factories to prepare for a busy year, KCNA said on Friday.
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“The country's missile and projectile production sector is of utmost importance in strengthening war deterrence,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
“To further expand overall production capacity” and keep pace with demand from North Korea's military, Kim also ordered the construction of new ammunition plants, KCNA said.
Kim's call for more missiles came after he appeared Thursday visiting a shipyard to oversee construction of what North Korea reports will be an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles.
Photos of Kim at the shipyard showed him inspecting a huge burgundy ship, coated in what appears to be anti-corrosion paint, under construction inside an assembly hall with senior officials and his daughter.
It was the first time North Korean state media had published images of the submarine since March, when they mainly showed the lower sections of the ship.
Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for National Unification, wrote in a report Thursday that the design of the submarine's hull indicates that it has been equipped with a nuclear reactor and that the vessel is almost ready to set sail.
During the submarine inspection, Kim warned that South Korea's plans to build nuclear-powered submarines would “worse instability” in the region, and described the move as a threat to North Korea's national security.
At a summit with US President Donald Trump in November, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on Washington to support South Korea's efforts to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. Trump later said the United States was open to sharing privately owned technology to allow South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine.
Kim orders more missile production
It was also reported Thursday that Kim oversaw the test launch of a new type of high-altitude, long-range anti-aircraft missile over the Sea of Japan.
The North Korean leader was quoted as saying that “new modernization and production plans” would be unveiled at the congress of his ruling Korean Workers' Party, expected early next year.
Analysts say Kim's recent focus on stepping up missile testing is aimed at improving precision strike capabilities, with a view to putting pressure on both the United States and South Korea, as well as testing weapons systems ahead of potential exports to Russia.
Already strong relations between Pyongyang and Moscow have grown even closer since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago. North Korea has sent troops, artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems to support Russian forces, analysts say, as part of a mutual defense pact signed by Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In exchange for Pyongyang's military support, Russia would have provided North Korea with financial assistance, military technology, and food and energy supplies.
Washington has also said there is evidence that Moscow's support includes advanced space and satellite technology.
Ahn Chan-il, a researcher originally from North Korea, said Pyongyang was also expected to “seek advanced military technologies from Russia, including nuclear-powered submarine capabilities and fighter jets.”
