Kim Jong-un urges ‘realistic’ combat preparations as he oversees air warfare drills

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw air warfare drills and urged “realistic” preparation for combat in response to the annual joint drill between South Korea and the US, Independent reports.

 

“Only realistic training directly related to warfare can prepare soldiers as real combat fighters,” Mr Kim said, according to state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

 

The military drills in the Hermit Kingdom were conducted after South Korea and the US concluded their joint drills earlier this week. The joint drills, known as the Freedom Shield exercises, were the first since Pyongyang in November scrapped a 2018 inter-Korean military pact aimed at de-escalating tensions.

 

The 11-day event saw participation from an unprecedented number of member states from the US-led United Nations Command, which has been operational as part of the armistice that concluded the 1950-1953 Korean War.

 

Mr Kim views his rivals’ exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion.

 

The parachuting training was the latest and the fourth reported instance of Mr Kim observing North's military exercises since the start of the South Korean-US drills. North Korea has intensified missile launches since 2022 and ramped up belligerent rhetoric this year.

 

After supervising the air warfare drills on Friday, Mr Kim expressed satisfaction with the troops’ readiness and ordered training to cope with all kinds of topography, weather, time, and the most severe conditions, according to KCNA.