Kim Jong-un ordered the army to intensify war preparations

Pyongyang: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his country’s military to step up war preparations in line with the requirements of the current situation, Al Jazeera reported, citing the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim’s visit came as the United States and South Korea’s militaries continued their annual Freedom Shield large-scale military exercises. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered increased combat readiness after inspecting troops at a major military operations base in the west of the country, Al Jazeera reports.

Stepping up war preparations in line with the requirements of the current situation The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) did not disclose the location of the base in its report on Thursday. According to KCNA, the North Korean leader said the military should “begin a new day of intensifying war preparations in line with the requirements of the current situation.”

“Our military must … continuously intensify actual combat exercises, aiming to rapidly improve its combat capabilities for precise combat preparedness,” he said. The exercise, expected to include 48 field exercises including missile interception exercises, bombardment, air strikes and live-firing, began on Monday with double the number of troops compared to last year.

North Korea has long condemned US and South Korean military exercises, claiming they are a rehearsal for an invasion and that it has conducted weapons tests in response to previous drills.

On Monday, KCNA quoted an unnamed spokesman for North Korea’s defense ministry as urging Seoul and Washington to stop their “reckless” and “frantic war exercises.” The US and South Korea “will pay dearly for their wrong choices,” the spokesman said. In Thursday’s report, KCNA did not mention whether Kim directly referred to the Freedom Shield exercises or No. (ANI)