North Korea's Kim orders increased production of mobile launch vehicles as tensions grow with US
ABC News
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered authorities to increase production of mobile launch vehicles for missiles, saying the country faces a looming military showdown with its enemies
SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered authorities to increase production of mobile launch vehicles for missiles because the country faces a looming military showdown with its enemies, state media reported Friday, as it pushes to make its launches harder to detect.
The report on Kim’s order came hours after the White House said U.S. intelligence has determined that North Korea has supplied ballistic missile launchers to Russia for its war in Ukraine. The U.S. and its allies have previously accused North Korea of sending artillery and ammunition to Russia in return for Russian technologies to enhance its own military programs.
The official Korean Central News Agency said Kim visited a factory that produces transport erector launchers, or TELs, without saying when he went or where the factory is.
TELs are mobile launch vehicles which give North Korea the ability to move missiles around its territory, making it more difficult for its adversaries to detect launches in advance. Some South Korean experts have estimated that North Korea has about 100-200 such vehicles.
Kim said the factory’s role is “very important” in bolstering North Korea’s national defense “given the prevailing grave situation that requires the country to be more firmly prepared for a military showdown with the enemy,” KCNA reported.
