The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, has tested a new sniper rifle and drove a cutting-edge 240 mm MLRS system while inspecting the country's defense enterprises.
Kim praised the development of the national defense industry, stressing that it stands toe to toe with global trends.
“He added that the recent remarkable development made in the national defense industry on a world level is a brilliant fruition of the validity and vitality of the Party's strategy for national defense economic development and its policy for carrying it out”, said the state-run KCNA news agency.
The North Korean leader also “highly appreciated the fact that automation and streamlining have been successfully realized at many enterprises”, state media reported.
While inspecting a firearms enterprise, Kim Jong Un demonstrated a keen interest in a new sniper rifle and test-fired it, hitting the bull’s eye with each shot.
Kim also inspected the new 240 mm multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) system production which is soon to be deployed, and personally drove one of the machines.
Kim “said that the core defense industrial enterprises under special care of the Party should play a vanguard role and fully guarantee the preparations of the Korean People's Army (KPA) for war materially and technically,” KCNA added.
Pyongyang recently bolstered its defense industries, including nuclear-capable MLRS, citing the worsening security situation on Korean Peninsula and in the Asia-Pacific region.
Kim has repeatedly stressed that the United States is planning to establish “Asian version of NATO” via a network of regional blocs and alliances.
Russian foreign policy officials agree that Washington's anti-Russian, anti-Chinese and anti-North Korean stances worsen the security situation in the region.