1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
PoliticsNorth Korea

North Korean leader Kim oversees military drills

March 16, 2024

Kim Jong Un has supervised North Korea's paratroop drills aimed at displaying his soldiers' ability after the most recent annual US-South Korean joint military exercises.

Kim Jong Un
The paratroop drills is a millitary exercise for airborne soldiers to attack in combat areas by parachuting from airplanesImage: Uncredited/KCNA/KNS/dpa/picture alliance

North Korea's Kim Jong Un supervised paratroop drills aimed at displaying his soldiers' ability to occupy an "enemy region at a stroke," state media said Saturday. 

"The North Korean leader also showed great satisfaction as his airborne soldiers occupied the simulated main enemy military targets at once," Korean Central News Agency said.

The paratroop drills is a millitary exercise for airborne soldiers to attack in combat areas by parachuting from airplanes. 

What the paratroop drills meant for Kim?

Korean Central News Agency reported that the exercise was aimed at inspecting the paratroopers' readiness to be mobilized for any operational plan in surprise wartime circumstances.

Images released by Pyongyang's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed Kim's young daughter, Ju Ae, using binoculars to observe the drills, standing beside her father and senior military officials.

According to the state media, the North Korean leader stressed the importance of applying realistic and scientific training methods for achieving maximum fighting efficiency on actual battlefields as required by modern warfare. 

The North's paratroop drills came after the most recent annual  US-South Korean Freedom Shield drills military exercisesImage: Defense Ministry of South Korea/REUTERS

A comeback for US-South Korean joint drill?

The North's paratroop drills came after the most recent annual  US-South Korean Freedom Shield drills military exercise.

Pyongyang has shown particular sensitivity towards the joint air force exercises conducted by Washington and Seoul.

Shortly after the announcement of the joint millitary exercises, the North had threatened the US and South Korea, describing the military exercises as a "threat that would be met with the appropriate response."

Pyongyang later announced that Kim had guided a large-scale artillery drill involving a unit that it said was capable of striking the South Korean capital.

What's behind new tensions between North and South Korea

02:40

This browser does not support the video element.

ssa/sri (AFP, Reuters)
 

Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW