Defiant Kim Jong-un speeds up missile production ahead of US-S Korea drills

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un again toured major munitions factories and ordered a drastic increase in the production of missiles and other weapons, state media said Monday, as the South Korean and US militaries announced they will begin major drills next week to hone their joint capability against the North's evolving nuclear threats.

Kim’s push to produce more weapons also comes as US officials believe Russia’s defence minister recently talked with North Korea about selling more weapons to Moscow for its war with Ukraine.

During a stop at the missile factory, Kim set a goal to “drastically boost” production capacity so the facility can mass produce missiles to meet the needs of front-line military units, KCNA said.

“The qualitative level of war preparations depends on the development of the munitions industry and the factory bears a very important responsibility in speeding up the war preparations of the (North) Korean People’s Army,” Kim said, according to the report.

Visiting other factories, Kim called for building more modern missile launch trucks and said there is an urgent need to boost production of large-calibre multiple rocket launcher shells “at an exponential rate,” the report said. Kim also drove a new utility combat armoured vehicle, KCNA said.

Kim has been focusing on enlarging his nuclear and missile arsenals since his high-stakes diplomacy with then-President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019.

Since the start of 2022, North Korea's military has conducted more than 100 missile tests, many of them in the name of warning the US and South Korean over their expansion of joint military training exercises.

Many experts say Kim eventually aims to use his modernised weapons arsenals to wrest US concessions, such as sanctions relief, whenever diplomacy resumes with Washington.

North Korea could perform more weapons tests soon as the US and South Korea are set to start their summer military exercises next Monday.

North Korea calls the US-South Korean training a practice for an invasion. The allies say they have no intentions of attacking North Korea.

KCNA quoted Kim as saying North Korea must have “an overwhelming military force and get fully prepared for coping with any war” with the power to “surely annihilate” its enemies.

The US-South Korean drills, called Ulchi Freedom Shield, is a computer-simulated command post exercise.

During this year's exercise, that is scheduled to run through until August 31, the allies said they'll also conduct large-scale field training events, which will reportedly be the largest of their kind in recent years.

'Realistic exercise'

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson, Lee Sung-joon, told reporters that this year's UFS drills are aimed at further strengthening the allies' response capabilities by performing exercises based on scenarios that reflect North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile capabilities and other regional security situations.

Colonel Isaac L. Taylor, a spokesperson for the US military, told the same news conference that the drills are designed to be “a tough and realistic exercise".

Earlier this month, the White House said US intelligence officials had determined that Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke to North Korean officials during a visit to Pyongyang last month about increasing the sale of munitions to Moscow for its war in Ukraine.

North Korea has denied American claims that it shipped artillery shells and ammunition to Russia. But the North has publicly supported Russia over the war and hinted at sending workers to help rebuild Russian-controlled territories in Ukraine.

Kim has been trying to beef up ties with China and Russia in the face of US-led pressure campaigns over its nuclear program and pandemic-related economic difficulties.