Click to see full-size image. (Rodong Sinmun)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected several major weapons factories over three days and ordered expanded production and modernization of artillery and other weapons, including greater use of artificial intelligence and automation, state media reported on September 19.
Kim toured munitions enterprises under the Second Economic Commission, the body responsible for much of North Korea’s defense production, from September 16 to 18, according to the Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun.
The factories’ locations were not disclosed. Photos released from the visits showed production equipment as well as North Korean 600 mm multiple rocket launchers.
Kim was accompanied by senior military and party officials, including Pak Jong-chon, a vice chairman of the Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission. His sister, Kim Yo Jong, was also among the officials accompanying him, according to North Korean state media reports.
During the inspections, Kim called for North Korean artillery to possess what he described as the country’s “most concentrated and destructive” capabilities, with the ability to carry out both deterrence and wartime missions. He said the defense industry should play a greater role in the party’s effort to build what he called a powerful military.
Click to see full-size image. (Rodong Sinmun)
Click to see full-size image. (Rodong Sinmun)
Click to see full-size image. (Rodong Sinmun)
Kim also directed officials to raise the level of artificial intelligence used in offensive and defensive weapons, increase automation in artillery systems and improve their armor.
He further called for better production conditions at the factories, tying technological upgrades to increased manufacturing capacity rather than treating them as separate projects.
The inspection also highlighted North Korea’s expanding interest in unmanned weapons. NK News reported that Kim inspected one-way attack drone production during the tour, while photos released through state media showed him examining military production lines.
Click to see full-size image. (Rodong Sinmun)
Click to see full-size image. (Rodong Sinmun)
North Korea has increasingly promoted drones as part of its military modernization, including efforts to incorporate AI into unmanned weapons.
That effort has been visible in recent military activity. Earlier in September, North Korea conducted a live-fire exercise involving one-way attack drones, tactical cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and large-caliber rocket launchers.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on September 12 that North Korea had also fired several short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area, with the weapons traveling about 250 kilometers toward the East Sea.
North Korea’s emphasis on combining different weapon systems and improving automated and unmanned capabilities reflects a broader effort to expand the conventional side of its military alongside its nuclear forces.
Last year, Kim also identified AI and unmanned systems as priorities for military modernization during tests of tactical attack drones.
The latest factory tour comes amid a broader tightening of military rhetoric from Pyongyang. Kim Yo Jong has recently rejected international calls for denuclearization, declaring North Korea’s nuclear status irreversible, while also warning that the country could respond more offensively to United States-led military activity in the region.
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