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Satellite images have revealed that Pyongyang is building new facilities, apparently to meet five-year weapons production targets set by Kim himself.
North Korea is ramping up military production ahead of the 9th Workers' Party Congress, focusing on drones and missiles, while Kim Jong Un is open to a possible dialogue with US President Donald Trump.
First, continued military buildup. Then, under certain conditions, one above all else: no demands for denuclearization, a possible meeting with Donald Trump, and diplomatic dialogue with the United States and South Korea.
These are very hot months for North Korea, at the center of global games as perhaps never before since its founding. Beyond the 38th parallel, weapons factories are working at a rapid pace to demonstrate to Kim Jong Un, and therefore to the entire world, the progress made in building drones, missiles and rocket engines.
Not only that: some satellite images have revealed that Pyongyang is building new facilities, apparently to meet the five-year weapons production targets set by Kim himself. All of this will be completed by the Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, scheduled for early 2026.
More weapons for Kim
As the website NK News explained, recent satellite images show North Korea’s efforts to complete work at several facilities suspected of being involved in the production of military drones, rocket engines, and missile launchers. Pyongyang needs to act quickly for two reasons. First, Kim will soon announce a policy of simultaneous development of nuclear and conventional weapons. Second, the North Korean leader has made small suicide drones a top priority when it comes to conventional weapons.
It's no surprise that over the past two years, Kim has publicized inspections of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on numerous occasions, most recently earlier this month at Panghyon Air Base, the headquarters of North Korea's drone program.
A factory, called the “Machinery Factory,” run by Jon Tong Ryol during Kim’s visits a decade ago, is believed to have been producing light aircraft at the time, making it a prime candidate for conversion to meet the leader’s new drone production goals. Part of that industrial complex was demolished in the summer of 2024 to make way for new manufacturing facilities.
What is North Korea aiming for?
In addition to drone development, several buildings are also under construction at the former Thaesong Machinery Factory complex, a facility that is believed to have been involved in the production of liquid-fueled missiles and rocket engines in the past. Planet Labs images show roofs being installed on two large buildings. The latest construction push at the facility could be linked to new plans to produce solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) engines. State media have recently reported plans for “specialized mass production” of the engines.
In early September, Kim inspected a modernized Hwasong-11 short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) factory, most likely known as the February 11 plant in Hamhung. Moreover, one of the most mysterious weapons production projects in recent years coincides with a site in Pyongyang designated for the mass production of launch and transport elevator (TEL) vehicles.
Meanwhile, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that US President Donald Trump would be open to dialogue with Kim "without preconditions." Trump will be in South Korea in late October to attend the upcoming APEC summit.
"President Trump, during his first term, held three historic summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which stabilized the Korean Peninsula," an unidentified White House official said. /Adapted from Il Giornale/
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