(Seoul) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected military ships as part of a new campaign to support his naval forces as his country steps up its “war preparations”, state media reported Friday. ‘State.
During a visit to the shipyard in Nampho, a port city about 65 kilometers southwest of Pyongyang, Mr. Kim gave an update on warships under construction as well as preparations for a “large new plan » assigned by the ruling party. No details regarding this plan were given.
“Strengthening the naval force is the most important issue to reliably defend the country’s maritime sovereignty and intensify war preparations at present,” Kim said, according to the official news agency.
The North Korean leader “expressed hope that the shipyard workers will succeed in building the world’s major warships,” KCNA said.
A nuclear-powered submarine was on Mr. Kim’s list of strategic weapons at a major ruling party congress in 2021, along with a hypersonic warhead, spy satellites and intercontinental ballistic missiles. solid fuel.
North Korea launched what it called its first “tactical attack nuclear submarine” last year, but according to the South Korean military it did not appear to be operational.
Analysts said it appeared to have been modified from an existing diesel-electric submarine, originally designed in the 1950s, raising questions about its limitations and vulnerabilities as a submarine. -shape.
Mr. Kim, who recently designated South Korea as the “main enemy,” disbanded government agencies dedicated to reunification and contacts with Seoul while threatening to declare war if his neighbor encroached on his territory “would not -that 0.001 mm”.
This week, he praised the recent test-firing of a cruise missile launched from a submarine, calling it a watershed moment for the development of North Korea’s maritime power.