North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a newly built institute at a renowned technology university in Pyongyang, praising it as a cutting-edge scientific research center, the North's media said Friday.

The North's Korean Central News Agency said that Kim gave "field guidance" to the automation institute of Kim Chaek University of Technology. The dispatch did not specify when Kim made such an inspection.

The automation institute consists of a seven-floor main building and a four-floor annex, which sits on a bank of the Taedong River, running through the capital. The construction began in November last year.

Kim was pleased that "The institute was built in such a way as to visually showcase the policies of the ruling Workers' Party that attach an importance to science and technology," the KCNA said.

The report added that Kim was in particular satisfied that the institute has been built with a glass roof that enables it to utilize solar energy.

Kim's inspection came as the North on Wednesday opened a new terminal at Pyongyang International Airport, which will be used for flights abroad. (Yonhap)