North Korean leader instructs production of more artillery shells
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has visited a munitions enterprise and called for boosting the production of artillery shells. Some experts estimate that 60 percent of the ammunition Russia is using to attack Ukraine is made in the North.
Saturday's edition of the ruling Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported that Kim inspected the enterprise's factory on Friday. It said the leader learned about the output for the first half of this year.
The paper said Kim pointed to the need to further expand the production capacity to increase the output of new powerful shells suitable for modern warfare.
A multinational team monitoring UN sanctions on North Korea said in a report released last month that Pyongyang supplied Moscow with as many as 9 million rounds of artillery and other ammunition in 2024 alone. The team was created by 11 nations, including Japan, the United States and South Korea.
North Korean media outlets reported last month that Kim toured a munitions plant, where he also instructed a further increase in the production of shells.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
4 hours ago
- Japan Times
Families of Japanese abductees race against time
Nearly half a century has passed since the first government-recognized abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s, yet the issue remains unresolved. Sakie Yokota, 89, is now the only surviving parent of a Japanese abductee. Her daughter, Megumi Yokota, became a symbol of the issue after being abducted in 1977 at the age of 13. The Association of Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea continues to press the government for stronger action. The group has collected signatures to rally public support, hoping that Megumi and other abductees can be brought home while her mother is still alive to welcome them. The Japanese government has officially recognized 17 people as victims of abduction by the reclusive Asian regime. Of those, 12 have yet to return, and their whereabouts remain unknown. In recent years, the parents of abductees have died one after another without a chance to be reunited with their children. Following the death of Akihiro Arimoto — father of Keiko Arimoto, who disappeared in Europe in 1983 at the age of 23 — in February at age 96, Sakie Yokota is now the last living parent of a recognized abductee. Reflecting on the long struggle ahead of her 90th birthday next February, Yokota said with a sigh, "I wonder how much longer I will be able to live. It has taken such a long time (to resolve the abduction issue). "I want to face my final moments after seeing (the victims) somehow set foot on Japanese soil and say, 'Thank you, we were able to come home,' with tears of joy," she said, expressing her heartfelt wish. On April 26, five members of the family association, along with supporters, took to the streets of Ginza in central Tokyo to gather signatures for their campaign. Calling out, "Every stroke of your pen is power," they appealed to passersby for support. It was the association's first street campaign in 12 years. The last such effort, in 2013, collected approximately 10,000 signatures. The latest initiative reflects growing concern over the "time limit" imposed by the aging families and fading public memory of the long-standing abduction issue. "The family association has set a time limit of rescuing the victims while any of their parents is still alive," said Takuya Yokota, the 56-year-old younger brother of Megumi and chief representative of the association. "We felt it was necessary to once again appeal to public opinion to help drive swift progress" in bringing the victims home. Since the family association was established in 1997, more than 19,000 signatures have been collected. Koichiro Iizuka, 48, the first son of abductee Yaeko Taguchi, who was snatched away in 1978 at the age of 22, expressed his resolve: "If we give up, it will end there. So we will continue to raise our voices." The family association has long urged the Japanese government to take concrete steps to secure the early return of the abductees. Still, negotiations between Japan and North Korea have remained at a standstill since October 2002, when five victims were repatriated following a historic summit between then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang the preceding month. The two countries still do not have diplomatic relations. The family association is placing its slender hopes on the possibility of a U.S.-North Korea summit during the second term of U.S. President Donald Trump. In 2017, during his first term, Trump raised the abduction issue in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly. The following year, he held the first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit, having talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore. Trump has met with the families of Japanese abduction victims on multiple occasions. Before his passing, Akihiro Arimoto expressed hope that Trump could help bring renewed attention to their cause. From April 29 to May 4 this year, a delegation including Takuya Yokota visited the United States to seek cooperation from the U.S. government on resolving the issue. During their visit, members of the delegation met with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, other senior officials from the Trump administration and members of the U.S. Congress. The delegation urged the United States to ensure that the abduction issue is raised at any future U.S.-North Korea summit meeting. After returning to Japan, Yokota expressed confidence. "Having the opportunities to meet with key figures in the Trump administration is itself a source of hope and courage for the families of the victims," he said. "I believe it also serves as a clear demonstration of close Japan-U.S. cooperation, which will put strong pressure on North Korea."
NHK
10 hours ago
- NHK
Trump suggests US could send more Patriot missiles to Ukraine
US President Donald Trump has indicated the US may provide Ukraine with additional Patriot air defense systems. Trump was asked whether he was considering doing so at a news conference at the White House on Friday. He replied, "Maybe." He had hinted at the possibility earlier in the week when speaking to a Ukrainian reporter on the sidelines of a NATO summit in the Netherlands. The reporter asked on Wednesday whether the US was ready to sell Patriot missiles to Ukraine. Trump asked where she was from and whether her husband was a soldier, before offering words of sympathy. In response to her question, he said, "We are going to see if we can make some of them available." Trump added, "I wish you a lot of luck, I can see this is very upsetting to you and say hello to your husband." Ukrainian media reported the conversation as being an important signal that more support could be coming from the US.
Japan Today
14 hours ago
- Japan Today
Top Ukrainian commander sees new assault on key eastern city
A Russian military helicopter flies past a flock of birds in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, a Russian-controlled city of Ukraine, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko Ukraine's top commander said on Saturday that his forces faced a new onslaught against a key city on the eastern front of its war against Russia, while Moscow said it was making progress in another sector farther southwest. After their initial failed advance on the capital Kyiv in the first weeks after the February 2022 invasion, Russian troops have focused on capturing all of Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. The city of Kostiantynivka has been a major target. Ukrainian forces have for months defended the city against fierce assaults, with the regional governor urging remaining residents this week to evacuate as infrastructure breaks down. Top Ukrainian commander Oleksander Syrskyi, writing on Telegram on Saturday, said the area around Kostiantynivka was gripped by heavy fighting. "The enemy is surging towards Kostiantynivka, but apart from sustaining numerous losses, has achieved nothing," Syrskyi said. "The aggressor is trying to break through our defenses and advance along three operating sectors." A spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east, Viktor Trehubov, told the Ukrinform news agency that Kostiantynivka and the city of Pokrovsk to the west were "the main arena of battles and the Kremlin's strategic ambitions". Syrskyi also said that Ukrainian forces had withstood in the past week a powerful attack near the village of Yablunivka in northeastern Sumy region, where Russian forces have been trying to establish a buffer zone inside the Ukrainian border. Russia's Defense Ministry, in a report earlier in the day, said Moscow's forces had seized the village of Chervona Zirka -- further southwest, near the administrative border of Dnipropetrovsk region. Russia's slow advance through eastern Ukraine, with Moscow claiming a string of villages day after day, has resulted in destruction of major cities and infrastructure. Moscow has insisted that progress towards a settlement of the 40-month-old war depends on Ukraine recognizing Moscow's control over four Ukrainian regions -- Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Russian forces control about one-fifth of Ukraine's territory, though they do not fully hold any of the four regions. Moscow has said in recent weeks that its troops have made advances in areas adjacent to Dnipropetrovsk region, which lies next to both Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Ukrainian officials have denied those reports. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
