North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited major military-industrial facilities and announced the need to increase production of missiles and ammunition over the next five years, KCNA reported.
Kim Jong-un said that “the country's production of missiles and shells is of paramount importance for deterring war“.
The North Korean leader noted that the opening of new facilities is necessary “to meet future needs“ of the missile and artillery forces of the armed forces, and a decision on this will be made at the 9th Congress of the Workers' Party.
The congress will be held in early 2026 and will determine the country's development plan for the next five years, according to Reuters.
A day earlier, Kim Jong-un inspected the construction of a nuclear-powered guided missile submarine. He called the 8,700-ton submarine "an epochal and decisive change in the level of war deterrence" and confirmed the "strategic and tactical policy aimed at constantly developing the nuclear weapons capabilities of the fleet."
According to the North Korean, South Korea's plan to jointly develop nuclear submarines with the United States threatens the Korean Peninsula with instability, and the response will be to modernize the DPRK Navy and strengthen its nuclear forces.