North Korea confirms missile tests as Kim visits munitions site

North Korea said Friday its two latest rounds of weapons tests this week were successful while vowing to bolster its nuclear “war deterrent” and speed up the development of more powerful warheads.

It appeared North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not attend the tests on Tuesday and Thursday, which were detected by the militaries of neighbors South Korea and Japan. But Kim did inspect a munitions factory where workers pledged loyalty to their leader, who “smashes with his bold pluck the challenges of U.S. imperialists and their vassal forces,” state media said.