Kim Jong-un Again Mentions 'War Preparations'... Even Personally Driving an Armored Vehicle

Inspection of Military Supply Factories Ahead of ROK-US Joint Exercises
Visited Missile Factory, "Dramatic Increase in Production Capacity"
Possibility of Considering Arms Exports to Russia

Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, once again inspected major military factories and emphasized that "the qualitative level of war preparedness depends on the development of the defense industry." Ahead of the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, he mentioned 'war preparedness' again, which analysts interpret as escalating tensions and building justification for provocations. There is also an interpretation that he had in mind arms exports to Russia.

Korean Central News Agency reported on the 14th that Chairman Kim visited tactical missile production factories, tactical missile launcher production factories, combat armored vehicle production factories, and large-caliber guided rocket projectile production factories on the 11th and 12th. The inspection of military factories is notable as it came just six days after the previous visit from the 3rd to the 5th, and ahead of the trilateral summit between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan on the 18th, as well as the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises starting on the 21st.

North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un emphasized 'war preparedness' during his inspection of major military factories on the 11th and 12th. The photo shows Chairman Kim personally driving a new armored vehicle at a combat armored vehicle production factory. [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the report, Chairman Kim ordered a "dramatic increase in missile production capacity" during his visit to the tactical missile production factory, and at the launcher production factory, he instructed that "modern and high-performance launchers that can practically contribute to the military's war preparedness must be produced in greater quantities." At the rocket projectile production factory, he described the realization of guided 122mm and 240mm rocket projectiles as a "revolutionary breakthrough."

Notably, while during the military factory inspection from the 3rd to the 5th, Chairman Kim was shown personally firing a rifle, this time he staged a scene driving an armored vehicle. At the combat armored vehicle production factory, he personally operated a newly developed multipurpose combat armored vehicle.

Chairman Kim has recently been continuously emphasizing 'war preparedness' and the defense industry. The general assessment is that this series of actions is aimed at building justification for provocations ahead of the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises. Among the photos released that day, a phrase behind Chairman Kim was staged to be visible: 'The enemies are on the fuse of war, let's sweep away the South Korean puppets.' This is interpreted as reflecting this intention.

Two days before the inspection, on the 9th, Chairman Kim presided over an expanded meeting of the Party Central Military Commission, spreading out a map of South Korea and ordering to "aggressively accelerate war preparations." He threatened again, saying, "We must thoroughly establish overwhelming military power and firm readiness to respond to any war, making the enemies dare not even think of using force, and must annihilate them without fail."

Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, emphasized 'war preparedness' while inspecting major munitions factories on the 11th and 12th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The possibility of illegal arms exports to Russia is also steadily being raised. During the military factory inspection from the 3rd to the 5th, for the first time, the term 'defense economic project' was used to emphasize the importance of the defense industry. This implies linking the defense industry to economic value, and combined with the recent visit of the Russian Defense Minister to North Korea, it was interpreted as suggesting 'foreign currency earning' through illegal arms exports to Russia.

In this regard, an official from the Ministry of Unification stated, "North Korea's intention is analyzed as showcasing achievements in the defense sector, responding to the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, and setting multiple strategic purposes including arms exports." The official added, "If the term 'defense economic project' means arms exports, it is a self-declaration of intent to violate the UN Security Council resolutions, which is deplorable."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.