Overview

• KCNA reported that Kim Jong-un said the ninth Workers' Party congress will present a policy to build nuclear forces and conventional armed forces in tandem.
• Kim made the comments during visits to the armored defensive weapons institute and the electronic weapons institute under the Academy of Defence Sciences.
• State media highlighted a push to modernize conventional capabilities, citing work on new armored vehicles, electronic weapons, special composite armor, and an intelligent active protection system.
• Kim reviewed a comprehensive live-fire test of a new active protection system aimed at defeating frontal, lateral, and top-attack anti-tank missiles.
• In a separate dispatch, KCNA said he oversaw a sniper shooting contest and urged systematic training for special sniper units.