North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the site of a test-firing of a long-range surface-to-air missile near the East Sea, December 24, 2025 in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 25, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS
SEOUL, Dec 26 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signaled the country will continue to develop missiles in the next five years, as he visited major munitions enterprises in the last quarter of 2025, state media KCNA said on Friday.
Kim said "the country's missile and shell production sector is of paramount importance in bolstering war deterrent," according to KCNA.
Kim ratified draft documents for the modernization of major munitions enterprises to be submitted to a key party congress expected to be held in early 2026, KCNA said, which will set a development plan for North Korea for the next five years.
The KCNA report follows Thursday's reveal of Kim overseeing the construction of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine with his daughter, a potential heir, and the test-firing of long-range surface-to-air missiles.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Chris Reese)
