The only strategic asset I can think of is something nuclear related. However, it would make no sense for them to develop a strategic bomber when their current ballistic missile inventory is enough for deterrence:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended a ceremony marking the 80th founding anniversary of the country’s air force, saying it will be given new strategic military assets and a “new important duty,” state media reported Sunday.
Kim made the remarks during the celebration event held Friday at Kalma Airport of the 59th Kil Yong Jo Hero Flying Group of the Second Air Wing, to mark the founding anniversary of the Air Force of the Korean People’s Army, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
Delivering a speech at the anniversary celebration, Kim said, “The Air Force will be given new strategic military assets and entrusted with a new important duty,” although he did not specify what those strategic assets would be.
N.K. dedicates hydropower station A hydropower station is seen in Hoeyang, Kangwon Province, eastern North Korea, on Nov. 20, 2025, as the North’s leader Kim Jong-un attended a ceremony marking its completion, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the next day. The completion of the Hoeyang Army-People Power Station is the last project of the six hydropower stations in the province, the KCNA said. (Yonhap)
North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang-chol (3rd from R) holds talks with Russian Gen. Viktor Goremykin (4th from L), who has led a delegation of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, in Pyongyang on Nov. 6, 2025, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
North Korea was trying to send a message to the U.S. Secretary of War before his JSA visit:
North Korea fired around 10 artillery shells from its multiple rocket launcher system earlier this week, coinciding with a joint visit by the defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, the South’s military said Tuesday.
The North launched the rockets toward waters off the northern Yellow Sea at around 4 p.m. Monday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, adding an analysis of the weapons test is under way.
The launch came less than an hour before U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived at Camp Bonifas, just south of the Joint Security Area (JSA) within the DMZ, for a joint visit to the tense border with Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back.
It looks like post-Freedom Shield is when there may be some movement on dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea if you belive the NIS:
The state intelligence agency has detected signs that North Korea had been preparing for a possible summit with the United States around the time of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering in South Korea, although the meeting did not take place, officials said Tuesday.
The agency also said there is high possibility of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un some time after a regular South Korea-U.S. military drill in March.
It looks like Kim Jong-un is making sure that if the Russians need more meat for their conflict against Ukraine his troops are ready:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected the combat readiness of a military special operations unit and gave instructions for its development, the North’s state media reported Sunday.
Kim visited the headquarters of the 11th Corps of the Korean People’s Army the previous day and watched a training session, expressing “great satisfaction” with its perfect war posture, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The 11th Corps is the North Korean military’s most elite special forces unit, which deployed troops to Russia late last year to support its war with Ukraine and gained experience in modern warfare.
At this point there really is no reason for the Kim regime to pursue diplomacy with the U.S. They are currently getting all the aid and support they need from the Russians. If the Ukraine-Russia end then the Kim regime may look for a new source of aid. If that is the case diplomacy with South Korea and the U.S. would make more sense:
South Korea’s Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha speaks during a parliamentary audit at the South Korean mission to the U.N. in New York on Oct. 17, 2025. (Yonhap)
South Korea’s top envoy to the United States said Friday that there is no indication yet that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit set to open in Korea later this month.
Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha made the remarks during a parliamentary audit at the South Korean mission to the U.N. in New York, amid lingering speculation that Trump could seek reengagement with Kim when he visits Korea for the APEC gathering slated to take place in the southeastern city of Gyeongju on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
“President Trump has said he is open to dialogue, and North Korea has also shown an indication (leaning toward dialogue). But there is no sign yet that something will materialize on the occasion of the APEC (summit),” Kang said during the audit session of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.
N.K. leader pays respects at family mausoleum A flower wreath laid by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seen at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on Oct. 12, 2025, to pay tribute to his grandfather and North Korea’s founder, Kim Il-sung, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day. The mausoleum enshrines the mummified bodies of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, the current leader’s father. (Yonhap)
Considering how capitalist Vietnam is sometimes people forget they are still ruled by a Communist regime:
Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam, will visit North Korea to mark the 80th founding anniversary of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, state media reported Monday.
The Vietnamese leader will pay a state visit to the North at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the occasion of the party anniversary set for Friday, the Korean Central News Agency reported in a short dispatch.
Vietnam’s foreign ministry also announced that Lam will visit North Korea for three days starting Thursday.
It would mark the first trip to North Korea by a Vietnamese leader in 18 years.
The article doesn’t say, but I wonder how many countries Pyongyang got to show up to their defense expo?:
This image published by the Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 5, 2025, shows North Korea’s Defence Development-2025, which kicked off in Pyongyang on Oct. 4. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
North Korea has launched its annual defense exhibition for the third consecutive year, with leader Kim Jong-un describing it as “the results” of the country’s projects to modernize and advance its military capabilities, state media reported Sunday.
The Defence Development-2025 kicked off in Pyongyang the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
n a speech at the event, Kim touted it as the “recent results of the important projects … to put the structure of the DPRK’s military capabilities, with its nuclear deterrent as the backbone, on an increasingly modern, advanced footing.”
