North Korean leader Kim Jong Un got behind the wheel of a nuclear-capable rocket launcher at a ceremony in Pyongyang.
The despot attended the event marking the presentation of fifty recent 600mm-calibre multiple rocket launchers to the Ninth Congress of the ruling Staff’ Party.
Kim was quoted by state media as haling the ‘wonderful’ weapons, that are said to be equipped with AI and advanced guiding technologies tailored for ‘a special attack’ – seen as a thinly veiled nuclear threat.
He said the upcoming party congress will issue plans to expand the military’s nuclear capabilities. Kim already has various systems targeting the US and its allies in Asia.
In a separate statement, his sister Kim Yo Jong – widely seen because the second strongest person within the country – said the North is bolstering border security against the ‘enemy’ South.
North Korea has suspended nearly all talks and cooperation with the South since 2019, when Kim’s nuclear diplomacy with President Donald Trump derailed over US-led sanctions.
Relations worsened lately as Kim discarded the North’s long-standing goal of peaceful reunification and declared a hostile ‘two-state’ system on the Korean Peninsula.
Photos from the ceremony show rows of launcher trucks lined up near the April twenty fifth House of Culture, the venue of party congresses in 2016 and 2021.
The 600mm-caliber multiple rocket launchers were produced in two months, state media said.
Kim can bee seen admiring the launchers while surrounded by fawning officials clapping and waving flags.
He has been touting the progress of assorted projects ahead of this month’s Ninth Congress, the country’s biggest political gathering that reviews performance, sets recent policy goals, and may bring leadership change.
‘The Ninth Congress of our Party will declare the subsequent phase of the self-reliant defence initiative and goal,’ said Kim in a speech on the rocket launcher ceremony, in line with KCNA.
‘The project of continuously renewing our military capabilities that may strongly subdue any threats and challenges from outside forces will speed up.’
The South Korean military is closely watching North Korea’s activities to develop weapons, a spokesperson for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Thursday.
The Ninth Congress may start as soon as Thursday or Friday this week, in line with Hong Min, an analyst on the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.
South Korea’s defence ministry said on Wednesday it’s reviewing a partial and unilateral restoration of a 2018 military agreement with North Korea by suspending some military activity along the border, including self-imposing a no-fly zone, through consultations with the USA.
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