North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has inspected a new missile production facility and approved plans to expand output, according to reports from state media. The visit on August 31 came just days before his trip to Beijing, where he is scheduled to attend a military parade alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During the inspection, Kim reviewed an automated assembly line designed to increase missile manufacturing capacity. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said he signed three new plans aimed at boosting production and approved a related defense expenditure package. He claimed that the modernization of missile production would improve combat readiness across major military units.
The announcement reflects Pyongyang’s intent to accelerate weapons development despite international sanctions imposed over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Analysts say those sanctions have lost effectiveness as North Korea has deepened economic and military ties with Russia and China. Western officials have accused Pyongyang of supplying Moscow with artillery, missiles and soldiers for use in Ukraine, with systems like the KN-23 short-range missile reportedly deployed against Ukrainian targets.
North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also criticized U.S. cooperation with Japan and South Korea, rejecting a recent trilateral statement on cybersecurity threats. A spokesperson accused Washington of turning cyberspace into a “theatre of geopolitical confrontation and hostile propaganda,” adding that “the more the U.S. persists in its hostile acts through intensified collaboration with its satellite countries, the more distrust and hostility will pile up between the DPRK and the U.S.”
Kim’s inspection is the latest in a series of high-profile visits to defense facilities, often used to signal both domestic priorities and foreign policy alignment. By expanding missile output, Pyongyang not only increases its regional strike capacity but also strengthens its role as a supplier for Russia.