North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed an artillery firing competition among combined units of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) and emphasized the importance of maintaining an enemy-focused perspective for war readiness.
On Wednesday, the Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported that the competition involved units from the KPA’s combined corps as part of intensive training to enhance the combat capabilities of the elite revolutionary forces.
Kim attended the event with senior military officials, including Party Secretary Pak Jong Chon, Defense Minister No Kwang Chol, Chief of the General Staff Ri Yong Gil, as well as commanders from the combined corps.
The newspaper reported that the competition was designed to assess the units’ ability to conduct night marches, deploy rapidly for combat, and execute firepower assaults against sudden enemy targets in summer coastal conditions. The exercise also aimed to refine modern artillery combat tactics and rank units by performance.
Combined corps commanders personally directed their units’ firepower assaults. Kim reportedly expressed satisfaction with the competition’s execution and its realistic simulation of combat conditions.
Kim praised the event as evidence of significant improvements in the military’s combat readiness since the 7th Training Cadre Conference of the KPA. He attributed this progress to the soldiers’ strong ideological commitment and the adoption of a scientific training system.
The North Korean leader emphasized that the most effective deterrent against war is maintaining an enemy-focused perspective. He urged all military units to leverage recent artillery advancements by reinforcing a training-focused culture. Kim stressed the need for forces capable of rapid deployment and decisive engagement with the enemy in wartime.
The winning unit, the 2nd Company, 3rd Battalion, 16th Artillery Regiment, 28th Infantry Division, received a special invitation to the 72nd Victory Day celebration on July 27.
This event follows North Korea’s training cadre conference in May, which emphasized the military’s combat readiness. Since the 8th Party Congress in 2021, North Korea has prioritized military modernization by focusing on modern warfare tactics and upgrading its weapon systems.