Photo : YONHAP News
With less than two weeks to go before the U.S. presidential election, North Korea is reporting that its leader, Kim Jong-un, has visited strategic missile bases to carry out inspections.
The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) said Wednesday that Kim examined readiness “for action of strategic deterrence directly connected with the security of the country,” including the functions and capabilities of launch facilities at the missile bases.
It is believed that some of the bases he visited are capable of launching intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Calling the country’s missiles the “core force” in deterring a war, Kim reportedly urged the further modernization of its armed forces with special attention to its strategic missile capabilities.
Kim mentioned what he called the “ever-increasing threat” to North Korea’s security from U.S. nuclear weapons, saying Pyongyang must bolster its deterrence capabilities to counteract the threat.
The KCNA said the North Korean leader was accompanied by his powerful sister, Kim Yo-jong, and by Kim Jong-sik, the first vice department director of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.
The report did not mention when the visits took place.