North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered on Friday an expansion and modernization of missile production in the coming year, including the construction of new factories in the Asian country to meet the needs of the North Korean Army.
“To meet the anticipated demands of the missile and artillery forces of the Korean People’s Army, it is necessary to continuously raise the level of modernization of the munitions industry by establishing new enterprises (…) and constantly upgrading the production structure of existing factories in a more efficient and practical way,” he said during a visit to a munitions factory alongside senior North Korean officials.
The leader also asserted during the event that “the missile and projectile production sector is of vital importance for strengthening military deterrence,” according to the state news agency KCNA.
These statements come just a day after he visited a factory in North Korea dedicated to the manufacture of nuclear submarines, where he stated that “given the unfavorable security situation (…) it is an urgent task and an indispensable option to further accelerate the radical development of the modernization and nuclear armament of the North Korean naval force.”
In addition, the North Korean Ministry of Defense denounced the same day the entry of a US nuclear submarine, the USS Greeneville, into South Korean waters, and stressed that Washington “is becoming less and less discreet in its attempts to create a serious element of nuclear instability in the North Korean security context.”
“The United States is getting closer and closer to the critical level in its attempt to gain a strategic advantage in the region by evolving its military alliance with South Korea into a nuclear confrontation bloc by sharing its nuclear weapons,” it warned, highlighting that Pyongyang “will continue to boost the development of its defense capabilities.” “Nothing will change, no matter how often the United States deploys its nuclear submarines to highlight the visibility of its nuclear strike forces,” Pyongyang asserted, adding that it will “consider countermeasures,” in line with “the doctrine of mutual deterrence between states with nuclear weapons.” “The form and timing of their implementation will be determined according to the principle of symmetry and asymmetry,” it added.
