North Korean leader Kim Jong Un asked his officials to ramp up the production of missiles and artillery shells in the coming year and build new factories to meet the needs of the military, state media reported on Friday.
During visits to major munitions factories, Mr Kim inspected the production of ballistic missiles and artillery rockets and approved draft modernisation plans, the state news agency KCNA said. “The country’s missile and shell production sector is of paramount importance in bolstering war deterrent,” Mr Kim said.
“To further expand the overall production capacity” and keep pace with the military’s demand, the leader also ordered the building of new munitions plants, the outlet said.
North Korea’s military buildup and insistence that it will never give up its nuclear weapons have alarmed the country’s neighbours Japan and South Korea, drawing them into closer military allegiance and increased joint defence drills with the United States.
Mr Kim’s call for more missiles came days after he visited a shipyard to inspect the construction of what Pyongyang described as an 8,700-tonne nuclear submarine.
The Korean leader had previously called the submarine’s construction a crucial step in the modernisation and nuclear armament of the navy.
Pictures released by KCNA showed Mr Kim, his daughter and leading officials touring the shipyard.
“In order to satisfy the prospective demands of the missile and artillery forces of the Korean People’s Army, it’s necessary to continuously raise the level of modernisation of the munitions industry by establishing new munitions enterprises as planned,” Mr Kim said, according to KNCA.
On Thursday, Mr Kim had reportedly supervised the test launch of a new type of an air defence missile over the Sea of Japan.
The leader told reporters that “new modernisation and production plans” were set to be revealed at the upcoming congress of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party scheduled for early next year.
Mr Kim is seeking to rapidly grow his country’s nuclear and missile capabilities while placing Russia at the centre of his foreign policy.
Pyongyang now possesses a range of nuclear-capable missiles designed to strike the US as well as its allies across Asia.
The military build-up was on display at a grand parade held in Pyongyang in October, which was attended by representatives from Russia, China and Vietnam. During the event, Mr Kim presented some of the country’s most advanced weapons, including a newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile.
Mr Kim has called on the US to abandon its insistence that the North give up its nuclear weapons before talks can resume.
He also did not respond to an offer from Donald Trump to meet while the US leader was in South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju earlier this year.
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