North Korean leader Kim Jong-un guided military drills for the second straight day on Thursday.
 
The North’s state Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) said on Friday that Kim guided the previous day a firing drill of the Korean People’s Army large combined units near the border. The long-range artillery sub-units near the border were reported to have completed “ important military missions for war deterrence” with “the enemy’s capital in their striking range.” 

The KCNA said that the drills were conducted with the aim of enhancing the combat readiness posture and actual war capability of artillery troops, adding the drills started with the demonstration of firing power and a firing competition among the units. 

Kim reportedly expressed satisfaction with the drills and called for more substantive planning for drills to significantly increase the artillery units’ combat capabilities.

The KCNA said Kim also presented important tasks for artillery war preparations, without elaborating on the details. 

On Wednesday, Kim reportedly inspected the field training of troops at a major military operations base in the western region of the country. Kim’s inspection of military drills for two days in a row comes as South Korea and the United States kicked off their combined Freedom Shield military exercise on Monday.