North Korea's Kim inspects new missile production line

1/9/2025 7:30

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a new missile production line and missile-manufacturing automation process, state media KCNA said on Monday.



His visit on Sunday to the missile production line came ahead of a planned trip to Beijing to attend a military parade along with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.



North Korea is under heavy international sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs that were developed in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.



Experts and international officials say the sanctions have lost much of their bite amid growing economic, military and political support from Russia and China.

Kim said that the modernized production process would help increase major missile units' combat readiness, according to KCNA.



North Korea has sent soldiers, artillery ammunition and missiles to Russia to support Moscow in its war against Ukraine.