North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a test of a new surface-to-sea missile at an undisclosed location in his country (French)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test launch of a "new type of surface-to-sea missile," according to official media, as part of efforts to enhance the security of his country's maritime borders.
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said on Thursday that Leader Kim supervised "the evaluation of the test launch of the Badasuri-6 surface-to-sea missile of the new type that the naval forces will be equipped with."
Kim expressed "great satisfaction with the results of the missile test launch," the agency reported, adding that the missiles hit their intended targets after flying over the East Sea.
The agency quoted Kim as saying that South Korea "violates North Korea's sovereignty by insisting on the Northern Border Line," and said that he ordered military readiness to be strengthened in the waters north of Yeonpyeong Island and to the west of the Korean Peninsula in the Northern Border Line area.
According to the same news agency, Kim said, "It does not matter how many lines there are in the western sea of Korea. When the enemy crosses the maritime borders that we recognize, we will consider this an infringement on the sovereignty of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and an armed provocation against it."
Kim said South Korea had allowed "various types of warships to enter the waters of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to seriously infringe on its sovereignty," referring to North Korea's official name.
Kim criticized Seoul's "desperate efforts to preserve the northern border line," pledging that his country "will fully defend its maritime sovereignty by force of arms and actions, not by any rhetoric."
Earlier this year, Kim said he would no longer recognize the Northern Limit Line, and according to a KCNA report, he referred to the actual border as “an imaginary border that has no basis in light of international law.”
It is noteworthy that the maritime border between the two countries, which is called the “Northern Border Line,” has not yet been officially demarcated, and this line was the scene of previous clashes between the two Koreas.
Pyongyang has also doubled its weapons testing, including launching a series of cruise missiles, testing an "underwater nuclear weapon system," and launching a solid-fueled hypersonic ballistic missile. The South Korean army announced yesterday that it had detected the launch of several cruise missiles from the northern side.
This year, nuclear-armed North Korea declared Seoul its "main enemy", closed agencies dedicated to reunification and communication, and threatened war in the event of the slightest violation of its territory.
Russia obsession
Pyongyang's official media reported on Thursday that Kim also inspected a "large" ammunition factory and reviewed the details of the production modernization process.
Kim's visit to the ammunition factory comes at a time when the United States and its allies accuse North Korea of arms trade with Russia.
The White House said last month that Russia had recently used short-range ballistic missiles from North Korea to launch strikes against Ukraine, citing declassified intelligence.
The launch of cruise missiles has sparked speculation among experts that the North is testing the weapons before shipping them to Moscow for use in Ukraine.
Pyongyang and Moscow have strengthened their relations in recent months, with Kim making a rare visit to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin last September.
Source: Agencies