North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected the new tactical missile weapon system to be deployed to the missile joint forces. This comes as he actively steps into defense industry sales ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea. On the same day, Kim also attended the completion ceremony of the new city in Pyongyang with his daughter, Ju Ae. This is her first public appearance in two months since March 15.
The Korean Central News Agency reported on the 15th that Kim expressed great satisfaction with the first half of this year’s production performance of defense industry companies under the Second Economic Committee during the occasion for understanding the tactical missile weapon system on the 14th.
The weapon unveiled is presumed to be the Hwasong-11 Ra close-range ballistic missile (CRBM), which North Korea calls a new tactical guided weapon and has been test-fired several times in the past. There is an analysis that Kim took care of the production site directly to promote the weapon system ahead of the visit of Putin, a big buyer of North Korean weapons. This month, Kim has been taking care of the status of the weapons system development by guiding the munitions factory on-site frequently.
The Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim also visited the completion site of Jonwi Street, a new city north of Pyongyang, on the same day. His daughter Ju Ae was also present at this event. Jonwi Street is a section that connects the intersection in front of the Three Revolutions Exhibition in Pyongyang to Sambong Bridge, and it is included in the Sopho district in the northwest of Pyongyang. Ju Ae played a symbolic role in the beginning and end of the development of this area by attending the groundbreaking ceremony of the Sopho district last February and the completion ceremony of Jonwi Street this time. It’s been two months since Ju Ae last appeared in public, when she attended the airborne troop training and the completion ceremony of the Kangdong General Greenhouse on March 15.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported, citing an internal document submitted to the UN Security Council’s North Korea Sanctions Committee, that North Korea is believed to have stolen and laundered about $170 million worth of cryptocurrency, making it challenging to trace until recently. By citing cybersecurity firms PeckShield and Elliptic, the submitted document mentioned that North Korea stole about $147.5 million worth of cryptocurrency from the HTX (formerly Huobi) cryptocurrency exchange at the end of last year and laundered it through the cryptocurrency mixer company Tornado Cash in March, making it difficult to trace.
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