DPRK's leader Kim inspects weapons plants: Reports
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The US and South Korea are currently preparing to hold another large-scale joint military drill later this month.
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DPRK's leader Kim inspects weapons plants, August 2023 (KCNA)
Upon touring a weapons factory as part of a three-day inspection of weapons and arms production facilities, the DPRK's leader Kim Jong-Un called for increased weapons production, DPRK-based news agency KCNA reported on Sunday.
This comes two weeks after the DPRK partook in a major military parade with Russian and Chinese counterparts to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.
The DPRK showcased its military strength by parading its latest weapons, including intercontinental ballistic missiles and spy drones.
As part of his three-day-long inspection of arms and weapons facilities, Kim visited a factory that produces engines for armed UAVs and production lines of super-large-caliber multiple rocket launchers and transporter-erector-launchers, KCNA reported.
Throughout his visits, Kim called for "steadily increasing the performance and reliability of the engine" and "rapidly expanding its production capacity," while also calling for the modernization of small arms as "the most important and urgent matter in making war preparations... in keeping with the changed aspect of war."
Read more: 'Embarrassment': US army classification of soldier who fled to DPRK
The US and South Korea are currently preparing to hold another large-scale joint military drill in August.
The US and South Korea have been conducting joint military exercises in the Peninsula for decades but in recent years they have increased the scale of their drills, simulating large-scale bombing against the DPRK.
Pyongyang has condemned the allies’ combined exercises as invasion rehearsals and has warned multiple times it would take "overwhelming" action in response.
On July 28, Pyongyang held a major military parade in celebration of the 70th anniversary of its victory in the Fatherland Liberation War, in which the country was able to withstand attacks from the US-led coalition in the 1950s.
The Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the Chinese and the high-ranking official and member Politburo of the Communist Party of China, Li Hongzhong, were in attendance, as thousands of Korean soldiers marched through the square followed by trucks carrying the country's strategic ICBMs.
Read more: DPRK says US triggers nuclear arms race, threatens basis NPT
