PYONGYANG, May 13. /TASS/. Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un has inspected several enterprises of the country’s military industry, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
According to KCNA, the North Korean head of state was accompanied on his visit by Jo Chun Ryong, secretary of the WPK (Workers’ Party of Korea) Central Committee, Kim Jong Sik, first deputy department director of the WPK Central Committee, Pak Jong Chon, advisor to the Ministry of National Defense, Kim Kang Il, vice-minister of National Defense and director of the General Armaments Bureau, Yu Chang Son, director of the Artillery Bureau of the General Staff, Kim Myong Son, director of the Armaments Examination Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense, and Kim Yong Hwan, president of the Academy of Defense Sciences.
Kim Jong Un reviewed the fulfillment of military production plans for the first half of 2026. He noted the enthusiasm of defense industry workers, who are "ensuring record growth in the production of various ammunition and making a significant contribution to strengthening the combat capability" of the Korean People’s Army.
The DPRK leader also pointed to existing shortcomings in the military industry's structure, production, and infrastructure. He noted that the modernization of production capacities is a priority, including modernizing the production structure and optimizing the layout of technological processes. Particular focus, he said, should be placed on improving management efficiency, hiring qualified personnel, and introducing scientifically based quality control indicators for manufactured products.
During a visit to another plant, Kim Jong Un set the goal of establishing the production of high-precision multipurpose, as well as special and training ammunition of various calibers, taking into account the needs of the army. Emphasizing the need to strengthen mortar and howitzer units, the head of state outlined the goal of creating a specialized complex for the production of artillery pieces and modernizing small arms factories to meet the future needs of the armed forces.
As KCNA noted, the tasks and important instructions, which Comrade Kim Jong Un gave during his field guidance at the enterprises, are scientific and important guidelines indicating the quickest and most correct way to the modernization of the country’s munitions industry, and serve as an important milestone for bringing about a radical turn in implementing the Party's policy of building up national defense by further speeding up the qualitative, quantitative and technical transformation in munitions production.