North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has inspected a newly opened defence museum displaying an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the United States, as US President Donald Trump signals the possibility of meeting him during a planned visit to Asia next month.
According to state-run Korean Central News Agency, Kim visited the Defence Revolution Museum on Sunday alongside his wife, Ri Sol Ju, and daughter, Ju Ae.
Images released by the agency on Tuesday showed an array of weapons developed under his leadership, including drones and the Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile.
The missile display featured what appeared to be a multiple-warhead design and a world map illustrating potential ranges extending beyond the US mainland to regions including the Middle East, Australia and South America.
Shin Jong-woo, Secretary General of the Korea Defence and Security Forum, said the exhibition appeared designed to demonstrate the progress of North Korea’s defence programme.
“The exhibition appears intended to highlight the achievements of Kim’s defence science development programme,” Shin said. “It gave the impression of propaganda aimed at gaining a strategic advantage ahead of potential a North Korea-US summit.”
Analysts said the permanent museum reflects Kim’s efforts to present the country’s expanding military capabilities as a lasting achievement of his leadership.
Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said the facility would help institutionalise the regime’s weapons development efforts.
“By turning what were once temporary weapons exhibitions into a permanent museum, Kim is institutionalising his military achievements and portraying North Korea’s nuclear and missile buildup as a completed and enduring legacy,” Lim said.
The development comes after Trump said on Monday that he could meet Kim during his planned trip to Asia in mid-November, when he is expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China.
The two leaders held historic meetings during Trump’s first presidency, although efforts to reach a lasting agreement on North Korea’s nuclear programme failed to produce a breakthrough.
Separately, North Korea confirmed that it test-fired a tactical ballistic missile on Monday to assess an upgrade to an unspecified key component.
KCNA said the improvement represented an important step towards enhancing the performance of the country’s offensive weapons systems but provided no technical details.
South Korea’s military had earlier reported that Pyongyang fired multiple ballistic missiles towards waters off its eastern coast.
The launch marked North Korea’s fourth missile test in a month, following South Korea’s recent test of a hypersonic missile.
