Kim Jong Un, the North Korea leader on Wednesday, visited a major military operations base in the western region of the country. There, the supreme leader issued directives for heightened readiness for a potential war, reported state KCNA news agency on Thursday.
US-South Korea drills
As per a Reuters report, the tour of the base — the location of which was not identified — coincided with the start of annual joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, a move that has historically irked North Korea.
This year’s US-South Korea drills feature twice the number of troops taking part compared to last year.
During his visit, Kim emphasised the need for the military to be fully prepared for any eventuality, and said that the army must “dynamically usher in a new heyday of intensifying the war preparations in line with the requirements of the prevailing situation.”
“Our army should … steadily intensify the actual war drills aimed at rapidly improving its combat capabilities for perfect war preparedness,” he told the troops, as quoted by KCNA.
At the undisclosed location, he inspected troops conducting actual manoeuvres under conditions simulating actual war. The report does not mention whether the supreme North Korea leader directly referred to the US-South Korea drills.
(With inputs from agencies)
