North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has signaled that the country will continue developing missiles over the next five years, following visits to major munitions enterprises in the last quarter of 2025, state media KCNA reported on Friday.

Kim said the country’s missile and shell production sector is “of paramount importance in bolstering war deterrence,” according to KCNA.

The report said Kim ratified draft documents on the modernization of key munitions enterprises, which will be submitted to a major ruling party congress expected to be held in early 2026. The congress is set to outline North Korea’s development plan for the next five years.

KCNA’s report follows Thursday’s disclosure that Kim oversaw the construction of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine alongside his daughter, widely seen as a potential successor, as well as the test-firing of long-range surface-to-air missiles.

Turkish authorities have detained 115 suspected Daesh members they said were planning to carry out attacks on Christmas and New Year celebrations in the country, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.

Istanbul Police obtained information that Daesh members had planned attacks in Turkey, against non-Muslims in particular, during Christmas and New Year celebrations, the prosecutor’s office posted on X, Reuters reported.

The police raided 124 places in Istanbul, capturing 115 of the 137 suspects they were seeking, the statement said. Several pistols and ammunition were seized, it said.

Pakistan has reached a military equipment deal worth more than $4 billion with Libya’s eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), Pakistani officials said, despite a long-standing United Nations arms embargo on the country.

The agreement was finalised following a recent meeting in Benghazi between Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Saddam Khalifa Haftar, the LNA’s deputy commander-in-chief. Officials said the deal will be implemented over about two and a half years, Reuters reported.

According to officials familiar with the agreement, the package includes air, land and naval equipment and may involve the sale of JF-17 fighter jets and Super Mushak trainer aircraft. Estimates of the deal’s value range between $4 billion and $4.6 billion, making it one of Pakistan’s largest-ever defence exports.

The LNA confirmed entering a defence cooperation pact with Pakistan, covering weapons sales, training and military manufacturing, though it did not provide details. Haftar described the agreement as the start of a “new phase of strategic military cooperation.”

Libya has been under a UN arms embargo since 2011, requiring international approval for weapons transfers. It remains unclear whether exemptions have been sought. Pakistani officials said the deal does not violate UN restrictions, noting that several countries continue to engage militarily with Libyan factions.

Pakistan has been actively expanding its defence exports, promoting its domestically produced and China co-developed JF-17 fighter as a lower-cost alternative to Western aircraft.
The Libya agreement would mark a significant expansion of Pakistan’s defence footprint in North Africa amid growing international competition for influence in the country.