This undated photo provided on Feb 2, 2024, by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) government, shows the DPRK leader Kim Jong-un (center) visiting a shipyard in Nampho, DPRK. (PHOTO / KCNA VIA AP)

SEOUL - The top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) called for strengthening its naval force during a visit to the country's major shipyard, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday.

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Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, made a field guidance trip to the Nampho Dockyard, said the report, without giving a specific date for the trip.

He (Kim) stressed the strengthening of naval force as the most important issue in reliably defending the maritime sovereignty of the country and stepping up the war preparations at present

He stressed the strengthening of naval force as the most important issue in reliably defending the maritime sovereignty of the country and stepping up the war preparations at present.

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"The situation requires the shipbuilding industrial sector to achieve a fresh rapid development and consolidate its material and technical foundation," Kim was quoted as saying.

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Stressing that the Nampho Dockyard, as a reliable large-scale military shipbuilding base of the country, is charged with the task of developing the country's shipbuilding industry and strengthening its naval force, Kim asked the shipbuilder to actively step up the modernization of the shipbuilding process.