North Korea's Kim Jong Guides Artillery Firing Drill Amid Tenstion With South Korea

He went to a significant operational training base in the western part of the nation on Wednesday.

Digital Desk: Experts estimate that North Korea demonstrated its long-range artillery systems on Thursday, displaying thousands of weapons that could be used to strike the South without much notice and could claim tens of thousands of lives.

The North's artillery exercises coincide with an increase in tension on the Korean Peninsula as South Korea and the US carry out their yearly Freedom Shield exercise, which, according to the South Korean military, will be centred on thwarting North Korea's nuclear threats.

This year, Pyongyang has warned of war over "even 0.001 mm" of territorial incursion, branded South Korea as its "principal enemy," and sacked organizations tasked with outreach and reunification.

The most recent announcement from Pyongyang was made as Washington and Seoul began their yearly spring military drills on Monday, with twice as many troops taking part than in 2023.

According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea's Defense Ministry condemned the 11-day joint US-South Korea exercises on Monday as "provocative" and "reckless." It issued a warning that its forces will keep an eye out for "adventurist acts" and engage in "responsible military activities" in order to bring what it called an unstable security situation under control.

Kim, when he saw the drills on Thursday, "expressed his great satisfaction" that the units are "fully ready for constant mobilization for battles," according to KCNA.

He went to a significant operational training base in the western part of the nation on Wednesday; pictures that were made public later showed him interacting with soldiers and supervising shooting drills.