North Korean leader vows to beef up national defense at key meeting

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to beef up national defense capabilities at a key meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea, state media reported on Tuesday. Kim urged speeding up the construction of a 10,000-tonnage strategic guided missile cruiser as well as the development and production of powerful conventional weapons, the report said.

He also underlined the need to ensure the qualitative completion of the ongoing project for fortifying the southern border and to build new bases for naval fleets to bolster national defense capabilities.