SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a new submarine and its weapons systems, state-run media reported Tuesday, the latest apparent effort to raise pressure on the United States amid efforts to resume nuclear talks.

He expressed “great satisfaction” after reviewing the operational and tactical and combat weapons systems of the new submarine, the Korean Central News Agency reported, adding that its operational deployment is “near at hand.”

“The operational capacity of a submarine is an important component in [the] national defense of our country bounded on its east and west by sea,” Kim was quoted as saying.

He also “stressed the need to steadily and reliably increase the national defense capability by directing big efforts to the development of the naval weapons and equipment” such as submarines, KCNA said.

The report came about a week after North Korea warned it may restart its nuclear weapons testing program if the United States conducts joint military exercises with South Korea as expected next month.

KCNA didn’t provide specifics about the submarine’s weapons systems or a date for the inspection.

The U.S. has largely dismissed the saber rattling in North Korean media as the administration presses to break the deadlock that stalled negotiations aimed at persuading Kim to give up his nuclear weapons.

President Donald Trump met with Kim on June 30 in a surprise summit in the truce village of Panmunjom on the heavily fortified border that divides the peninsula. He said the two leaders agreed to resume talks, but no date has been set.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted that Kim had personally assured him and Trump that he will denuclearize his country.

“We hope that the working-level discussions will begin in a couple of weeks,” he said Monday in an interview with the “Buck Sexton Show” on iHeartMedia.

The talks stalled after Trump and Kim ended a late February summit in Vietnam without agreement due to differences over their respective demands for complete denuclearization and incremental sanctions relief.

The KCNA report and photos of Kim inspecting the submarine are the latest indication that the North is continuing its military development in tandem with diplomatic efforts.

Experts have pointed out the North never agreed to cease development, although Kim did order the suspension of the missile and nuclear tests that raised fears of war and prompted a war of words with Trump in 2016-17.

North Korea has been known to be working aggressively on building a ballistic-missile submarine, which poses major security risks because it would be harder to detect than land-based systems and able to maneuver in international waters.

The North successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile in August 2016.

gamel.kim@stripes.com Twitter: @kimgamel

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