North Korea said Monday leader Kim Jong Un inspected a new weapons factory that’s key to his plan to accelerate mass production of missiles in a weekend visit before he departs for a major military parade in China.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency did not disclose the location of the factory Kim visited Sunday, but it may be in Jagang province, a hub of the country’s munitions industry that borders China, The Associated Press reported.
Both China and North Korea confirmed last week that Kim will make his first visit to China in six years to attend a military parade in Beijing on Wednesday, which marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China’s resistance against Japanese wartime aggression.
The 26 foreign leaders invited by Chinese President Xi Jinping also include Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who has received major wartime support from Kim in his invasion of Ukraine, making the Beijing event a show of three-way alignment against US efforts to strengthen security cooperation with South Korea and Japan.
South Korean media speculated Kim could depart for China by train sometime Monday, pointing to heightened security measures at the Chinese border town of Dandong, where rail traffic was reportedly halted and hotels stopped receiving foreign guests.
KCNA said the factory had assembly lines to speed missile production and reported that Kim praised scientists and workers and ratified plans for improvement.
South Korean officials say Kim has pushed to accelerate munitions production as he supplies Russia with large quantities of military equipment, including artillery and ballistic missiles. Kim has also sent thousands of troops since last fall to fight alongside Russian forces against Ukraine, as he prioritizes Moscow as part of a foreign policy aimed at expanding ties with nations confronting the United States.
