North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a new missile production facility on Sunday, reviewing automated processes aimed at increasing productivity and the combat readiness of major missile units, KCNA reported on Monday.

The visit comes ahead of his trip to Beijing to attend a military parade alongside leaders including China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

A spokesperson from South Korea’s Unification Ministry said the tour likely aimed to showcase North Korea’s missile production capabilities.

Despite international sanctions over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, North Korea has continued to receive growing economic, military, and political support from China and Russia, weakening the impact of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

KCNA highlighted Kim’s satisfaction with the automated system, which it said would boost both productivity and the quality of missile units.

North Korea has also reportedly sent military equipment and missiles to Russia to support Moscow in the Ukraine war.

Separately, the North’s foreign ministry condemned the U.S., Japan, and South Korea for using cyberspace as a “theatre of geopolitical confrontation,” criticising a recent trilateral statement on cybersecurity threats from Pyongyang.

The ministry warned that continued hostile actions by the U.S. would only deepen distrust and hostility between Washington and the DPRK.

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