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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has guided an artillery fire competition on the western front, state media said Saturday, the second such guidance in about a week.
The competition Friday involved large combined units of the Korean People's Army, with the participation of the artillery units under the 3rd, 4th and 8th corps of the KPA, the Korean Central News Agency said in a report.
"The Supreme Leader expressed satisfaction, saying that the firing skill of the artillerymen on the western front, those under the 3rd Corps in particular, was remarkably great," said the English report. "And he spoke highly of them, noting that it was just like hitting the target with sniper rifle."
The 3rd Corps had an "overwhelming victory" and took first place, followed by the 8th Corps and then the 4th Corps, according to the report.
"The Supreme Leader gave important instructions on the direction of the military and political work, including the issue of intensifying the drills of all the KPA units, as required by the prevailing situation," it continued.
"The competition held under the direct guidance of the iron-willed commander Kim Jong-un, who is opening a great heyday of the development of the revolutionary armed forces with his extraordinary commanding art and far-sighted acumen, will serve as a historic one as it provided the turning point of another great leap forward in developing the Juche-based artillery force," KCNA said, referring to the North's policy of self-reliance.
Joining Kim on the competition grounds were Army Gen. Kim Su-gil, director of the General Political Bureau of the KPA, Army Gen. Pak Jong-chon, chief of the General Staff of the KPA, commanding officers of the large combined units on the western front and other KPA commanding officers.
KCNA described the competition as designed to inspect and evaluate the artillery forces on the western front without notice.
It was also aimed at "awakening all the units and fundamentally improving all the forms, programs and methods of artillery drills and also at definitely turning ordinary drills into practicable ones for an actual war," the report said. (Yonhap)
