SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-firing on Wednesday of a long-range surface-to-air missile at a launch site near its east coast, state media KCNA reported on Thursday.
The test, aimed at assessing the country’s strategic technology for developing a new type of high-altitude missile, destroyed targets in the air from 200 km (124 miles) away, KCNA said.
Kim also observed construction work at a separate site on an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles, KCNA said. It did not identify the location or the date of his visit.
The submarine project is part of the North Korean ruling party’s effort to modernize the country’s Navy, one of five key policies the party is pushing to develop its defense capabilities, KCNA said.
Kim was quoted as saying that the all-out development of nuclear capabilities and modernization of the Navy are essential and inevitable, while “the present world is by no means peaceful.”
Kim also said South Korea’s plan for developing a nuclear submarine, agreed with Washington, would further inflame tensions on the Korean Peninsula and poses a risk to national security that requires him to take action.
Message from Putin
In another report, KCNA said Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a message on December 18 to Kim to celebrate New Year’s Day.
The year 2025 had a “special meaning” for the relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang, Putin said in the message to Kim, according to KCNA.
The message said “heroic” participation of North Korean soldiers in the war in Russia’s western Kursk region “clearly proved the invincible friendship” between the two countries, according to KCNA.
