SEOUL, October 05 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his country will continue to strengthen its military capabilities to counter what he called growing threats from the United States and South Korea, as he opened a major military hardware exhibition in Pyongyang showcasing new missile systems, including what appears to be a hypersonic variant of the KN-23.
The exhibition, titled "Defence Development-2025," opened in the North Korean capital on October 4 to mark the upcoming 80th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea. In a speech carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on October 5, Kim said the event offered a visual display of the country's "general level attained by our defence capabilities," describing its nuclear deterrent as the "backbone" of national security.
"This exhibition features the recent results of the important projects that we have pressed on with in order to put the structure of the DPRK’s military capabilities, with its nuclear deterrent as the backbone, on an increasingly modern, advanced footing," Kim said. He thanked scientists and technicians in the munitions industry, saying their work "constitutes the highest praise for our Party’s 80-year-long history."
Kim said North Korea’s defense sector had reached a level "much higher than the founder generation of the Juche-oriented defense industry hoped to reach," and warned that the country could not afford to ease its pace of weapons development.
"The moment we feel complacency leads to the beginning of our advance getting sluggish," he said. "The U.S.–ROK nuclear alliance is making rapid progress... and the United States is taking measures for expanding the stockpile of its military assets in and around the ROK, posing a real and serious threat to the security of our country and others in the region."
He accused Washington of upgrading its reconnaissance and strike capabilities to make "preemptive strikes" easier and said Pyongyang had "assigned special assets to the major targets of our concern" in proportion to the U.S. buildup in South Korea. "They themselves should have to judge whether the territory of the ROK would be a safe place in any case," Kim warned.
Photos released by KCNA showed new missile systems on display, including one labeled "Hwasong-11 Ma." Analysts in Seoul identified it as a new version of the KN-23, a short-range ballistic missile often referred to as the North Korean version of Russia’s Iskander. According to Yonhap News Agency, the Hwasong-11 Ma appears to carry a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) warhead, a design that would allow the missile to fly at speeds above Mach 5 while maneuvering at low altitude to evade interception.
The KN-23 has been among North Korea’s most frequently tested missiles, with versions launched from road vehicles, railcars, and even submarines. It is estimated to have a range exceeding 800 kilometers (around 500 miles), allowing it to strike targets anywhere in South Korea.
During his speech, Kim also suggested that new strategic goals would soon be announced for North Korea’s defense industry. "Our powerful assets for national defence capability will develop more rapidly without a moment of delay," he said. "Everyone will soon know the new goals to be set forth for the defence technology sector and the aspect of its development at the next stage."
KCNA said the exhibition featured "ultra-modern weapon systems developed into the pivotal military hardware of our armed forces," describing the venue as "full of the latest defence assets, an ensemble of the Juche-oriented defence sci-tech strength." Senior officials, military commanders, and defense scientists attended the opening ceremony, where Kim reviewed a guard of honor before touring the exhibition hall.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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