North Korea’s Kim Jong Un pushes more missile production as ‘war deterrent’

North Korean leader calls for increased production of missiles, shells and more factories to produce them.Published On 26 Dec 2025North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his officials to step up production of missiles and artillery shells and construct more factories to meet his military’s growing need for the weapons, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) has reported.In a visit to munitions plants accompanied by top officials, Kim ordered the factories to prepare for a busy year ahead, KCNA said on Friday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4‘A comedy show’: Myanmar youth in exile slam military-run ‘sham’ electionlist 2 of 4‘No negotiation, no truce’ with RSF, says senior Sudan officiallist 3 of 4Venezuela frees dozens detained during protests against Madurolist 4 of 4Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,401end of list“The country’s missile and shell production sector is of paramount importance in bolstering war deterrent,” Kim said, according to KCNA.“To further expand the overall production capacity” and keep pace with demand from North Korea’s armed forces, Kim also ordered the building of new munitions plants, KCNA said.Kim’s call for more missiles followed after he was featured on Thursday visiting a shipyard to oversee the construction of what North Korea reports will be an 8,700-tonne nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles.Photos of Kim at the shipyard showed him inspecting a huge, burgundy-coloured vessel, coated with what appears to be anticorrosion paint, under construction inside an assembly hall with senior officials and his daughter.It was the first time North Korean state media had released images of the submarine since March, when they mostly showed the lower sections of the vessel.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of a purported nuclear-powered submarine [KCNA via Reuters]Hong ‌Min, a senior research fellow at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for National Unification, wrote in a report on Thursday that the design of the submarine’s hull indicates it has been equipped with a nuclear reactor, and the vessel is almost ready to sail.