The despotic leader ordered the upgrade as inspected the factory which built the tyres used to transport North Korea’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to the test site
He outlined its importance to the future of his volatile kingdom after helping North Korea launch a missile capable of hitting the mainland US.
Kim Jong-un said: “The factory must be upgraded to be state-of-the-art one in line with the requirements of the era of the knowledge-based economy.”
North Korea’s most advanced and powerful rocket yet was moved on an 18-wheel transport erector launcher (TEL) that ran on tyres from the factory.
Kim called for an increase in production to meet “the daily-increasing needs in developing the country’s economy and beefing up national defence capabilities.”
As the despot inspected the factory for another one of his eerie photo ops he took the time to praise the “fighting spirit and working manner of the officials and working class who had established the new production process of large-size tire with domestic products, not depending upon imported equipment, in a revolutionary way and in a short time.”
He claimed the workers had made the “new-type large-size tires, far superior to imports in their physical and mechanical properties.”
North Korean English language news said: “He gave the task of manufacturing without fail the large-size tire for the 9-axis self-propelled launching vehicle of our own style to the factory in September.”
News of Kim’s visit comes as officials warn his arsenal could soon have a viable nuclear-armed missile that could hit Washington DC.
Kim Jong-un has been celebrating the ICBM missile launch since last Tuesday, which saw a missile soar 2,500 miles into the atmosphere before crashing down into the Sea of Japan.
And now US and South Korean officials warned it could have reached any point of the US mainland – including Washington DC.
Yeo Suk-Joo, policy chief at the South Korean Defence Ministry, said: “If it were fired at a normal angle, it would be capable of flying over 8,000 miles.
“That means it can reach Washington DC.”
South Korean officials added the hermit state could have a “viable” arsenal of nuclear missiles ready by the middle of next year.
According to the officials another North Korea missile test could be launched soon, after the construction of a new launchpad in the hermit state.
Hawaii has been testing a newly revamped air raid warning system as fears mount.
Speaking to Fox News, tourist Bruce Jelsema said the state was right to prepare due to Kim Jong-un’s “instability”.
He said: “He seems somewhat unstable and because of that I think precautions should be taken.”
Resident Justine Espiritu said: “It’s concerning. I feel a little bit like it’s out of my hands.”
Statements issued in the days since North Korea’s missile launch on Tuesday, in the rogue nation’s state-run newspapers, have only increased concerns of a second test.