SEOUL, Dec 25 — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed the construction of a submarine with his daughter, a potential heir, and oversaw the test-firing of long-range surface-to-air missiles, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported today.
Yesterday's missile test near the east coast, aimed at assessing the nuclear-armed country's strategic technology for developing a new type of high-altitude missile, destroyed targets in the air from 200km away.
Yonhap News Agency reported South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff as confirming that the missile test occurred at 5pm (0800 GMT). A Joint Chiefs official said the military had been aware of launch preparations and was ready for it.
Kim observed construction at another site on an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles. It did not identify the location or date of his visit.
KCNA reported that the submarine project is part of the ruling party's effort to modernise North Korea's navy, one of five key policies the party is pushing to develop the nation's military capabilities.
A photo showed Kim at a submarine construction site with his daughter, Ju Ae. Surrounded by other officials, he smiles as the teenager, considered by some analysts a frontrunner to succeed her father, stands beside him in an indoor facility housing a red vessel.
Kim said North Korea is building multiple attack destroyers and nuclear submarines and working to rapidly accelerate construction so that vessels can be equipped with various weapons.
Seoul-based Korea Institute for National Unification senior research fellow Hong Min wrote in a report today that the submarine's hull design indicates it is equipped with a nuclear reactor, and the vessel is almost ready to sail.
Kim was quoted as saying the all-out development of nuclear capabilities and modernisation of the navy are essential and inevitable, while "the present world is by no means peaceful".
He said Seoul's plan to develop a nuclear-powered submarine, agreed with Washington, would further inflame tensions on the Korean Peninsula and poses a risk to national security that requires him to take action.
North Korean state media also criticised the recent entry of a United States nuclear-powered submarine into a South Korean port, calling it "an act of escalating military tensions" on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.
The South Korean Navy said that on Tuesday (December 23), the nuclear-powered submarine Greeneville arrived at the Busan port for crew shore leave and the loading of supplies.
Earlier this week, Pyongyang said that Japan was showing its intention to possess nuclear weapons, encouraged by South Korea's moves to develop a nuclear submarine.
