Overview

• During a June 12 inspection of a major munitions enterprise, Kim Jong-un demanded a rapid increase in production capacity for new artillery shells.
• He urged adoption of unmanned assembly lines to accelerate manufacturing and reduce reliance on manual labor.
• The visit included a review of first-half output and ongoing modernization efforts at the facility.
• North Korea has already deployed troops and supplied artillery munitions to reinforce Russia’s operations in Ukraine.
• Analysts warn that expanding Pyongyang-Moscow military cooperation heightens security risks on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe.