Pyongyang: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered an urgent increase in missile production during a visit to a weapons factory in preparation for Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Pyongyang. Meanwhile, his sister, Kim Yo-jong, reiterated North Korea's unwavering stance on maintaining its nuclear status.
According to Thai News Agency, North Korea's state news agency, KCNA, reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a weapons and missile production facility and emphasized the need to expand production capabilities to keep pace with the restructuring of the Korean People's Army. He ordered a more than twofold increase in the country's missile production capacity, aiming for a 2.5-fold increase within the next five years, as per the military's objectives. This comes just days after Kim Jong-un visited a new nuclear materials facility and ordered a rapid expansion of nuclear weapons production.
The move by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is believed to be preparation for Chinese President Xi Jinping's official visit to North Korea on Monday (June 8), marking the first visit to Pyongyang by a Chinese leader in nearly seven years. The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that President Xi will meet with Kim Jong-un to discuss bilateral relations and other issues of mutual interest. The Chinese government is seeking ways to strengthen ties with North Korea, its only official treaty ally.
Meanwhile, the state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported a statement from Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un's influential sister, clearly stating that North Korea's nuclear status is absolutely unnegotiable. North Korea will never back down from its nuclear weapons program and will not yield to any threats. Kim Yo-jong also strongly refuted White House claims that the Chinese and U.S. leaders share a common goal of North Korean denuclearization, calling the idea an outdated American fantasy.
Analysts believe that the simultaneous launch of a nuclear facility and the acceleration of missile production are aimed at strengthening North Korea's advantage and bargaining power before Kim Jong-un's talks with Xi Jinping. It also sends a direct signal that China should not raise the issue of denuclearization as a condition or demand at the meeting, as North Korea has permanently enshrined its nuclear status in its constitution.