North Korean leader calls for bolstering combat capability during artillery drills

Seoul, July 24 (IANS) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called on the military to strengthen combat capability through intensive training, stressing the capability "of immediately coping with a war anytime and destroying the enemy in every battle," state media reported on Thursday.

Kim made the remarks as he observed a firing contest of artillery subunits of the Korean People's Army (KPA) the previous day, accompanied by senior party and defence officials, reports Yonhap, quoting Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

During the training aimed at sharpening artillery firing capabilities, participating units were ordered to hit a maritime target that was designated at a spot in a limited time, the KCNA said.

Kim expressed satisfaction after observing the contest and called for further developing the military's artillery tactics "in keeping with the harsh and acute environment of the daily-changing modern battlefield," the KCNA said.

He was also quoted as saying the military should further beef up intensive training for a "real war" and stressed that the most powerful war deterrent is the "clearest outlook on the arch enemy."

Among officials who attended the event were Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the ruling party's Central Military Commission; Defence Minister No Kwang-chol; and Ri Yong-gil, chief of the General Staff of the KPA.

During his visit to the defence ministry in February, Kim designated 2025 as the year of military training and has since overseen various military activities to emphasise intensive training and the acquisition of modern warfare capabilities.

Kim oversaw a similar military artillery firing contest in late May.

An official at South Korea's unification ministry assessed that North Korea did not appear to target either South Korea or the United States with Wednesday's firing drills, adding that Pyongyang did not specify whom it meant when referring to "the arch enemy."

Hong Min, a senior researcher at South Korea's Korea Institute for National Unification, pointed to what appeared to be a 170-millimetre self-propelled gun seen in KCNA photos of the drills, suggesting that North Korea may be trying to incorporate warfare experiences from the Russia-Ukraine war into its military training.

"North Korea appears to be systematising the experiences gained from its troop deployment to the Russia-Ukraine war and applying them across its military," Hong said. The 170-mm self-propelled gun is among the various weapons North Korea is reported to have transferred to Russia in support of the war.

--IANS

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