- The North Korean army conducted military exercises.
- Analysts say the country is working hard to win international recognition.
- The exercise was supervised by Pak Jong Chon.
According to state media reports on Sunday, North Korea’s mechanized forces held an artillery match over the weekend as part of an effort to improve the country’s defense capabilities.
The North Korean Central News Agency said that the exercise was conducted on Saturday, and North Korea increasingly complained that it viewed this as a double standard, that its military activities drew international criticism, while similar exercises by South Korea and the United States usually do not.
Analysts say that Pyongyang is seeking to normalize its defense activities in order to eventually win international acceptance of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile arsenals, which have been approved by UN Security Council resolutions.
Most of North Korea’s large conventional artillery units are deployed along the fortified border with South Korea, where they can reach the densely populated capital Seoul.
According to the KCNA report, the exercise “coincides with the entire Korean People’s Army (KPA) keen to receive intensive training to meet the new heyday of strengthening national defense capabilities under the banner of self-defense”.
Rising star
- The Korean Central News Agency said they were supervised by Park Jung-chon, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of North Korea and secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
- Park Geun-hye has long been regarded as a rising star in the country’s powerful army and a major participant in its missile program. He was promoted to his current post in September.
The Korean Central News Agency said that General Lin Guangri, the chief of staff of the Korean People’s Army, and the commanders of the participating troops watched the exercise with Park.
The report said: “When the commander of the joint force gives a firing order, the annihilating the enemy’s barrels will competitively shell the target to accurately hit it.”
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