State media showed Kim inspecting a massive burgundy-coloured vessel coated with what appears to be anti-corrosion paint under construction inside an assembly hall. He was accompanied by senior officials and his daughter, according to Euronews.
The Korean Central News Agency said Kim visited a shipyard to inspect construction of what North Korea describes as an 8,700-tonne nuclear-propelled submarine. The agency did not specify when the visit took place.
It was the first time North Korean state media released images of the submarine since March, when they mostly showed lower sections of the vessel.
Kim described South Korea's efforts to acquire a nuclear-powered submarine, which have been backed by US President Donald Trump, as an "offensive act" that severely violates the North's security and maritime sovereignty.
He said the South Korean plan demonstrates why North Korea's army needs to modernise and nuclear-arm, and claimed completion of his nuclear-powered submarine would be an "epoch-making" change in strengthening its nuclear deterrent.
Pyongyang has indicated it plans to arm the submarine with nuclear weapons, calling it a "strategic guided missile submarine" or a "strategic nuclear attack submarine".
MNA
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