North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw air force drills and emphasized the need to ramp up war readiness, state media reported on Saturday.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim inspected air strike and air defense exercises conducted by North Korea’s First Air Division last Thursday, and called on "all units of the military" to make a “breakthrough in war preparedness.”
اضافة اعلان
Hong Min, a North Korea expert at the Korea Institute for National Unification, noted that footage of the drills aired by North Korean state television showed a MiG-29 fighter jet firing what appeared to be a North Korean version of a medium-to-long-range air-to-air missile developed by Russia.
Earlier in May, Kim also supervised a missile test, inspected tank and munitions factories, and made a rare visit to the Russian embassy in Pyongyang, reaffirming North Korea’s alliance with Moscow. He also oversaw tank firing drills and special operations unit training.
Criticism of the United States
Separately, North Korea criticized the U.S. Department of State for including it once again on its list of countries that do not fully cooperate with U.S. counterterrorism efforts—a designation the country has held annually since 1997.
A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson, quoted by KCNA, stated, “The more the United States escalates its provocations against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with unnecessary and futile malicious acts, the more deeply entrenched the hostile relations between the two countries will become.”
The spokesperson added that North Korea would take “effective and appropriate measures to counter the U.S.'s hostile provocations in all areas.” — (Reuters)
