•  North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has visited the construction site of a new “modern naval base” and has pledged to further develop the country’s maritime forces. The new facility’s location would give Pyongyang a strategic advantage, he said.Late last year, Kim ordered North Korea’s military and arms-manufacturing industry to “further accelerate war preparations” in the face of what he characterized as “unprecedented” acts of confrontation against the country by the US and its regional allies.The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has since intensified missile tests and also unveiled a new multiple rocket launcher and kamikaze drones, among other weaponry.