North Korea's Kim Jong Un calls for more shell production, KCNA says
SEOUL, June 14 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected military industrial factories, calling them to expand production of shells that meet modern warfare needs, state media KCNA said on Saturday.
Kim visited lines for pressing metals and assembly on Friday, checked the progress of shell production in the first half of 2025, and suggested new tasks for improvement, KCNA said.
"If we are to increase the production of new, powerful shells of that meet the needs of... modern warfare, we need to expand and reinforce our production capacity, arrange the production process more rationally, and constantly increase the level of unmanned production," Kim said, according to KCNA.
In recent months, Kim's publicised moves have focused on strengthening the military and improving ties with Russia, while North Korean state media has mostly stayed quiet on criticisms against South Korea as the latter picked a new liberal president this month.
North Korea has supplied Russia with more than 20,000 containers of munitions, according to a report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, a group comprising 11 UN members, in May.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BreakingNews.ie
28 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Zelensky warns oil price surge could help Russia's war effort in Ukraine
A sharp rise in global oil prices after Israeli strikes on Iran will benefit Russia and bolster its military capabilities in the war in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has said. The Ukrainian president told journalists in Kyiv that the surge in oil prices threatens Ukraine's position on the battlefield, especially because western allies have not enforced effective price caps on Russian oil exports. Advertisement 'The strikes led to a sharp increase in the price of oil, which is negative for us,' Mr Zelensky said. 'The Russians are getting stronger due to greater income from oil exports.' Global oil prices rose as much as 7% after Israel and Iran exchanged attacks over the past 48 hours, raising concerns that further escalation could disrupt oil exports from the Middle East. Mr Zelensky said he planned to raise the issue in a conversation with US President Donald Trump. 'In the near future, I will be in contact with the American side, I think with the president, and we will raise this issue,' he said. Advertisement He also expressed concern that US military aid could be diverted away from Ukraine towards Israel during renewed tensions in the Middle East. 'We would like aid to Ukraine not to decrease because of this,' he said. 'Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine.' Ukraine's military needs have been sidelined by the US in favour of supporting Israel, Mr Zelensky said, citing a shipment of 20,000 interceptor missiles, designed to counter Iran-made Shahed drones, which had been intended for Ukraine but were redirected to Israel. 'And for us it was a blow,' he said. 'When you face 300 to 400 drones a day, most are shot down or go off course, but some get through. We were counting on those missiles.' Advertisement An air defence system, Barak-8, promised to Ukraine by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu was sent to the US for repairs but never delivered to Ukraine, he added. The Ukrainian president conceded that momentum for the Coalition of the Willing, a group of 31 countries which have pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine against Russian aggression, has slowed because of US ambivalence over providing a backstop. 'This situation has shown that Europe has not yet decided for itself that it will be with Ukraine completely if America is not there,' he said. The offer of a foreign troop 'reassurance force' pledged by the coalition is still on the table 'but they need a backstop, as they say, from America' Mr Zelensky said. 'This means that suddenly, if something happens, America will be with them and with Ukraine.' Advertisement The Ukrainian president also said the presence of foreign contingents in Ukraine would act as a security guarantee and allow Kyiv to make territorial compromises, which is the first time he has articulated a link between the reassurance force and concessions Kyiv is willing to make in negotiations with Russia. 'It is simply that their presence gives us the opportunity to compromise, when we can say that today our state does not have the strength to take our territories within the borders of 1991,' he said. But Europe and Ukraine are still waiting on strong signals from Mr Trump. Without major US sanctions against Russia, 'I will tell you frankly, it will be very difficult for us', Mr Zelensky said, adding that it would then fall on Europe to step up military aid to Ukraine. Advertisement In other developments, Russia repatriated more bodies of fallen soldiers in line with an agreement reached during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, Russian officials said on Saturday, cited by Russian state media. The officials said Ukraine did not return any bodies to Russia on Saturday. Ukraine's Co-ordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed in a statement that Russia had returned 1,200 bodies. The first round of the staggered exchanges took place on Monday. The agreement to exchange prisoners of war and the bodies of soldiers was the only tangible outcome of the talks in Istanbul on June 2. Continuing a renewed battlefield push along eastern and north-eastern parts of the 600-mile front line, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed on Saturday that its troops had captured another village in the Donetsk region, Zelenyi Kut. Russia launched 58 drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight into Saturday, according to the Ukrainian air force, which said its air defences destroyed 23 drones while another 20 were jammed. Russia's Defence Ministry said it shot down 66 Ukrainian drones overnight.
The Independent
43 minutes ago
- The Independent
Zelenskyy warns oil price surge could help Russia's war effort
A sharp rise in global oil prices following Israeli strikes on Iran will benefit Russia and bolster its military capabilities in the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday in comments that were under embargo until Saturday afternoon. Speaking to journalists in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said the surge in oil prices threatens Ukraine's position on the battlefield, especially because Western allies have not enforced effective price caps on Russian oil exports. 'The strikes led to a sharp increase in the price of oil, which is negative for us,' Zelenskyy said. 'The Russians are getting stronger due to greater income from oil exports.' Global oil prices rose as much as 7% after Israel and Iran exchanged attacks over the past 48 hours, raising concerns that further escalation in the region could disrupt oil exports from the Middle East. Zelenskyy to address concerns with the US Zelenskyy said he planned to raise the issue in an upcoming conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump. 'In the near future, I will be in contact with the American side, I think with the president, and we will raise this issue,' he said. Zelenskyy also expressed concern that U.S. military aid could be diverted away from Ukraine toward Israel during renewed tensions in the Middle East. 'We would like aid to Ukraine not to decrease because of this,' he said. 'Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine.' Ukraine's military needs have been sidelined by the United States in favor of supporting Israel, Zelenskyy said, citing a shipment of 20,000 interceptor missiles, designed to counter Iran-made Shahed drones, that had been intended for Ukraine but were redirected to Israel. 'And for us it was a blow,' he said. 'When you face 300 to 400 drones a day, most are shot down or go off course, but some get through. We were counting on those missiles.' An air defense system, Barak-8, promised to Ukraine by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu was sent to the U.S. for repairs but never delivered to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian president conceded that momentum for the Coalition of the Willing, a group of 31 countries which have pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine against Russian aggression, has slowed because of U.S. ambivalence over providing a backstop. 'This situation has shown that Europe has not yet decided for itself that it will be with Ukraine completely if America is not there,' he said. Coalition of the Willing offer under consideration The offer of a foreign troop 'reassurance force' pledged by the Coalition of the Willing was still on the table 'but they need a backstop, as they say, from America,' Zelenskyy said. 'This means that suddenly, if something happens, America will be with them and with Ukraine.' The Ukrainian president also said the presence of foreign contingents in Ukraine would act as a security guarantee and allow Kyiv to make territorial compromises, which is the first time he has articulated a link between the reassurance force and concessions Kyiv is willing to make in negotiations with Russia. 'It is simply that their presence gives us the opportunity to compromise, when we can say that today our state does not have the strength to take our territories within the borders of 1991,' he said. But Europe and Ukraine are still waiting on strong signals from Trump. Without crushing U.S. sanctions against Russia, 'I will tell you frankly, it will be very difficult for us,' Zelenskyy said, adding that it would then fall on Europe to step up military aid to Ukraine. Body and prisoner returns follow Istanbul talks In other developments, Russia repatriated more bodies of fallen soldiers in line with an agreement reached during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, Russian officials said Saturday, cited by Russian state media. The officials said Ukraine did not return any bodies to Russia on Saturday. Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed in a statement that Russia returned 1,200 bodies. The first round of the staggered exchanges took place Monday. The agreement to exchange prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers was the only tangible outcome of the talks in Istanbul on June 2. Russia says push continues Continuing a renewed battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that its troops captured another village in the Donetsk region, Zelenyi Kut. The Ukrainian military had no immediate comment on the Russian claim. Russia launched 58 drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight into Saturday, according to the Ukrainian air force, which said its air defenses destroyed 23 drones while another 20 were jammed. Russia's defense ministry said it shot down 66 Ukrainian drones overnight. Attacks have continued despite discussions of a potential ceasefire in the war. During the June 2 talks in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators traded memorandums containing sharply divergent conditions that both sides see as nonstarters, making a quick deal unlikely. ___
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war, but Moscow received no war dead, Russia says
June 14 (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners-of-war (POWs) on Saturday, the Russian defence ministry said, and Russia handed over the bodies of 1,200 dead Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv. The exchanges are part of agreements reached by the warring sides during talks in Istanbul earlier this month. Ukraine earlier on Saturday confirmed it had received the bodies of its soldiers killed in action. However, Russian state media reported, citing sources, that Moscow had not received any of its war dead back from Kyiv, echoing a statement Russia made on Friday, when it said it had returned the bodies of 1,200 slain Ukrainian soldiers and received none of its own. The Russian defence ministry did not say how many POWs were involved in the swap with Ukraine on Saturday, but it posted video showing its soldiers holding Russian flags and cheering before boarding a bus. The Russian soldiers are in Belarus, where they are receiving medical treatment before transfer back to Russia, the defence ministry said.
