North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a factory producing multiple rocket launchers, ordering increased output to bolster the country’s modernized long-range artillery, state media KCNA reported Tuesday. Kim stressed perfecting production structure “to secure strong production capacity and thus fully guarantee the successful attainment of the munitions production goals, to be set forth at the Ninth Congress of the WPK”.
The visit comes amid recent inspections of weapon factories, a nuclear-powered submarine, and missile tests ahead of the Ninth Party Congress, expected January 2026. Analysts suggest Kim will announce expanded nuclear weapons and new systems at the congress. “Next year, doors are open for North Korea to negotiate with the U.S. so all these military moves by Kim are also connected to him trying to raise his negotiating leverage, by showing weapons linked to nuclear (arms),” said Park Won-gon, North Korea expert at Ewha Womans University, Seoul.
