North Korean leader inspects weapons factories, calls to boost missile production

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected weapons factories over the weekend and called for an increase in missiles production, state media reported on Monday.

Kim gave field guidance to major munitions factories, including a factory producing tactical missiles, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

“Satisfied” that the weapons factory had “perfected the scientific and technological issues,” Kim set forth “important goal” for the factory to “drastically boost the existing missile production capacity.”

He called for mass-producing missiles as “required by the system of the expanded and strengthened frontline units and missile units and by the operational plans.”

Kim lauded highly the weapons factory for “taking timely steps to rapidly establish the production processes of newly developed tactical missiles,” and emphasized on “surge in production for war preparations."

Kim’s inspection of the weapons factories comes as the US and Japan are mulling to “jointly develop a new type of missile to intercept hypersonic projectiles.”

The new joint project is expected to be discussed and agreed upon when Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets US President Joe Biden later this week at Camp David near Washington.

If approved, it will be the second such joint project between Tokyo and Washington.

Earlier, the two allies had developed Standard Missile-3 Block 2A while its successor SM-3 Block 1A developed was independently developed by Washington.