On Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid a visit to a major military operations base in the country’s western area. The supreme leader issued directions to increase readiness for a potential war, according to the state-run KCNA news agency on Thursday.
Kim Jong Un emphasized the necessity for the military to be completely prepared for any eventuality
The visit to the base, whose location was not disclosed, coincided with the commencement of annual joint military exercises between the US and South Korea, a move that has historically irritated North Korea, according to Reuters.
This year’s US-South Korea drills will contain twice as many troops as last year.
During his visit, Kim emphasized the necessity for the military to be completely prepared for any eventuality, stating 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.
He inspected troops doing genuine exercises at a secret location under conditions that simulated actual war. The story does not specify if the top North Korean leader expressly mentioned the US-South Korea drills.