Overview
- State media released photos of Kim Jong-un, joined by his daughter Kim Ju-ae, inspecting a large submarine at the Sinpo shipyard that appears not yet launched.
- KCNA portrayed the vessel as a strategic platform of about 8,700 tons with missile-launch capacity and nuclear propulsion, claims not independently confirmed.
- KCNA said Kim supervised a test of a “new type” long-range, high-altitude anti-air missile over the East Sea.
- Kim condemned President Donald Trump’s approval for South Korea to pursue nuclear-powered submarines, calling the move a threat that must be countered.
- KCNA carried a message from Vladimir Putin praising ties and North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region, as analysts debate unproven Russian assistance and intelligence reports cite thousands of DPRK troops deployed with heavy losses.