<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/north-korea" rel="" target="_blank" title="North Korean"><span>North Korean</span></a><span> leader </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/kim-jong-un" rel="" target="_blank" title="Kim Jong Un"><span>Kim Jong Un</span></a><span> supervised the test-firing of two types of new anti-air missiles, state media said, displaying his expanding military capabilities as the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/south-korea" rel="" target="_blank" title="South Korean"><span>South Korean</span></a><span> and </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/usa" rel="" target="_blank" title="U.S."><span>U.S.</span></a><span> militaries carry out joint drills.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said the test proved the missiles were effective in countering aerial threats such as drones and cruise missiles, and that Kim assigned unspecified “important” tasks to defence scientists ahead of a major political conference expected early next year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The report did not specify the missiles that were tested or where the event took place, and it did not mention any remarks by Kim directed at Washington or Seoul.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-weather-rain-ruins-weekend-spots-for-entire-month-fields-ovals-underwaters/5d7ff8f5-c17a-4abd-944d-d60d1df67575" target="_blank" title="'Heartbreaking': The hidden toll of Sydney's wettest August in 27 years"><strong><span>'Heartbreaking': The hidden toll of Sydney's wettest August in 27 years</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The test coincided with new South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s trip to Tokyo for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, where they vowed to strengthen bilateral cooperation and their trilateral partnership with the United States to address common challenges, including North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Lee was to depart for Washington on Sunday for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kim’s government has repeatedly dismissed calls by Seoul and Washington to restart long-stalled negotiations aimed at winding down his nuclear weapons and missiles programs, as he continues to prioritise Russia as part of a foreign policy aimed at expanding ties with nations confronting the United States.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/north-korea-kim-jong-un-missile-test/9f7ffd2e-f922-43ac-80aa-0ceac83fb0a9" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kim has sent thousands of troops and large shipments of weapons, including artillery and ballistic missiles, to help fuel President Vladimir Putin’s warfighting.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/technology/black-dot-phone-screen-what-is-pixel-cancer-how-to-fix/c64f5377-8c7a-4e49-85ef-e984c0a75b6c" target="_blank" title="Your phone might have cancer – but it's not what you think"><strong><span>Your phone might have cancer – but it's not what you think</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That has raised concerns Moscow could provide technology that strengthens Kim’s nuclear-armed military, with experts pointing to North Korea’s aging anti-air and radar systems as a likely area of cooperation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>South Korea’s previous conservative government said in November that Russia supplied missiles and other equipment to help strengthen air defences of the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, but did not specify which systems were provided.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kim held a ceremony in Pyongyang last week to honor North Korean soldiers who fought in Ukraine, awarding state “hero” titles to those who returned and placing medals beside 101 portraits of the fallen, praising them as “great men, great heroes and great patriots,” state media reported.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to South Korean assessments, North Korea has sent around 15,000 troops to Russia since last spring, and about 600 of them have died in combat.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kim has also agreed to send thousands of military construction workers and deminers to Russia’s Kursk region, a deployment South Korean intelligence believes could happen soon.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><em><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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