NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen a test launch of long-range strategic cruise missiles and called for the “unlimited and sustained” development of his country’s nuclear combat forces, according to state media.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Monday that Kim expressed satisfaction as the cruise missiles flew along their orbit, set above the sea west of the Korean Peninsula, and hit their target.
The launch, which took place on Sunday, was the latest event Kim attended, in a flurry of activity by the North Korean leader to underscore the country’s military and economic progress before a key party congress expected to be held in early 2026.
The meeting will set a development plan for North Korea for the next five years.
Kim said that “checking the reliability and rapid response of the components of [North Korea’s] nuclear deterrent on a regular basis … [is] just a responsible exercise”, as the country “is facing various security threats”. He also affirmed that Pyongyang would keep devoting “all their efforts to the unlimited and sustained development of the state nuclear combat force”, KCNA reported.
KCNA did not specify the area in which the missiles were launched.
South Korea’s state news agency Yonhap reported on Monday that South Korea’s military detected the launch of multiple missiles from the Sunan area near Pyongyang on Sunday morning.
It warned that North Korea may conduct additional missile tests at the end of the year.
Separately, the KCNA reported on Thursday that Kim also inspected an 8,700-tonne “nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine” under construction and warned that South Korea’s plan to build nuclear-powered submarines will be a threat to North Korea’s security that “must be countered”.
It was the first time North Korean state media had released images of the submarine since March, when they mostly showed the lower sections of the vessel.
During the Thursday event, Kim was accompanied by his daughter, a possible successor, and oversaw the test-firing of long-range surface-to-air missiles.
Kim has attended multiple openings of facilities, including factories and hotels, during the past month, as the country races to wrap up its current “five-year plan” of development before convening the ninth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea in early 2026.
Last November, North Korea also staged a ballistic missile test, just more than a week after United States President Donald Trump, on a tour of the region, expressed interest in meeting with Kim. Pyongyang did not respond to the offer.
At that time, Trump had just approved South Korea’s plan to build a nuclear-powered submarine.
Since Kim’s 2019 summit with Trump collapsed over the scope of denuclearisation and sanctions relief, Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state.
Kim has since been emboldened by Russia’s war on Ukraine, securing critical support from Moscow after sending thousands of troops to fight alongside Russian forces.