Kim Jong-un sports large cowboy hat while announcing new plan for bigger warships and submarines

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un says he needs a new navy base because the country is building bigger warships and submarines, state media reported on Sunday 8 September.

The news came among a series of reports about Kim’s visits to military-related facilities.

State television showed video of the leader greeting cheering soldiers while wearing a cowboy hat at an artillery academy, but only showed still photos of his visit to the location of the new navy base.

North Korea has pursued the development of submarine-launched missiles for many years.

Foreign experts consider this a significant capability, if Pyongyang could deploy nuclear warheads underwater to launch attacks without easily being found.