Pyongyang - Saba:
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected the country's main tank manufacturing plant on Sunday, stressing the need to replace old armored vehicles with modern tanks.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency reported that "Leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the operations of the main tank manufacturing plant and inspected various sections of the plant, closely examining the state of production, modernization, and the implementation of the research mission into main tank technologies."
The North Korean leader emphasized that "abandoning old armored vehicles and equipping them with the latest tanks and modern armored vehicles is the most important issue in modernizing the ground forces," expressing satisfaction with the modernization of the tanks' designs and firing systems produced by North Korea.
In his remarks, Kim Jong Un called on the plant to "unremittingly" improve its technologies, increase production rates, and pay attention to improving the working environment.
Last Friday, North Korea celebrated the launching of a new destroyer in a grand ceremony held at the Nampo shipyard on April 25, the anniversary of the founding of the first armed forces of the Korean Revolution.
The Korean Central News Agency reported that "the ceremony was attended by Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the State Affairs Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."
Kim Jong Un delivered a historic speech during the launching ceremony of the destroyer, named Choe Hyon, emphasizing the importance of this achievement in advancing the country's naval modernization.
Commemorative photos were taken of Kim Jong Un with the ship's officers and crew, as well as with distinguished officials and workers at the shipyard and the institute responsible for designing the destroyer, who he praised for their role in completing this historic project, according to the agency.
This launch is part of Pyongyang's efforts to enhance its naval capabilities and modernize its warship fleet.
Previously, North Korea accused its neighbors, South Korea and the United States, of stoking tensions through their joint military exercises, warning that it would deter any hostile attempt by the two allies.
North Korea's Defense Ministry described the US-Korean air drills as a "reckless and unnecessary abuse of force and a grave provocation," considering them "raising regional military tension to an extremely dangerous level," according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
The ministry accused the United States of deploying strategic assets such as nuclear submarines, bombers, and aircraft carriers on the peninsula to a new record level.
It considered these US actions to have become a routine military practice, warning that "the US's demonstrative military action will bring serious negative consequences to the security situation."
| more of (International) |