During an inspection of a weapons factory, Kim Jong Un emphasized that the modernization of North Korea’s ammunition industry requires not only the technological improvement of existing facilities, but also the establishment of new specialized factories to meet the needs of the Korean People’s Army. As state agency KCNA reported, the North Korean leader stressed the need to increase efficiency and modernization in the production of missiles and projectiles next year, as this work is crucial to strengthening national defense capability. This call to expand and modernize the military-industrial base comes in a context in which Kim warns of an increasingly delicate security situation on the peninsula and attributes the deterioration of this scenario to external factors.
According to the KCNA report, Kim Jong Un pointed out that the missile and projectile sector is essential to ensuring the country’s military deterrence. During his visit to the factory, accompanied by senior officials, he instructed those in charge to create new companies in the field of war industries and to maintain a constant strategy to update production processes in order to adapt them to a logic of greater effectiveness and practical utility for the needs of the Armed Forces.
State media said the statements came a day after the North Korean leader visited a factory dedicated entirely to building nuclear submarines. There, Kim Jong Un emphasized the urgency of accelerating the development of naval forces with modern nuclear weapons systems. According to him, the development and modernization of the Navy’s nuclear weapons is not only a priority task “given the negative security situation”, but also an inevitable option for the North Korean military apparatus.
The inspection days and presidential directives coincided with an announcement by the North Korean Defense Ministry about the entry of the US nuclear submarine USS Greeneville into waters south of the peninsula. According to KCNA, the North Korean military authority interpreted this move as a sign that Washington is increasing its pressure and desire to maintain a strategic presence, describing the action as an element that increases regional instability in a nuclear sense.
The official North Korean reading is that the United States has raised the level of its regional strategy and is trying to gain advantage by transforming its military alliance with South Korea into what it sees as a nuclear confrontation bloc. According to the Defense Department, the US government would facilitate the development of bilateral military cooperation towards operational exchange of nuclear weapons, which Pyongyang sees as a direct threat to its security.
“The United States is increasingly approaching critical levels in its attempt to gain strategic advantages in the region by developing its military alliance with South Korea into a nuclear confrontation bloc by sharing their nuclear weapons,” the statement reported by KCNA warned. The official statement assumes that the deployment of American nuclear submarines in the region is part of a deliberate effort to increase visibility and deterrence pressure on North Korea.
KCNA further stated that the North Korean authorities confirm that the North Korean national defense policy will maintain its current course despite the repetition of these maneuvers and Washington’s show of force. The Pyongyang government indicated that it would analyze “countermeasures” to respond to these foreign actions within the guidelines set forth in its doctrine of “mutual containment between states with nuclear weapons.” The statement says that both the form and timing of the application of these measures will be studied and will be guided by the criteria of symmetry and asymmetry of the response.
The regime’s position, reported by KCNA, states that no US operational strategy will be able to change North Korea’s determination to further strengthen its military capabilities. The text underlines Pyongyang’s commitment to strengthening its defense programs and developing weapons adapted to current needs and foresees new phases of modernization in the defense industry in 2026.
In summary, the plan for the next cycle drawn up by Kim Jong Un includes the expansion of the missile sector, the construction of new factories, the introduction of modernization technologies in ammunition production and the rapid response to, in his opinion, external military provocations, the KCNA agency emphasized. North Korean authorities have insisted their approach responds to the evolving security situation and perceptions of threats from military cooperation between the United States and South Korea.
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