North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected the field training of troops at a major military operations base in the western region of the country on Wednesday and ordered the military to intensify war drills.

According to the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) on Thursday, Kim inspected training facilities and guided the actual maneuvers of the Korean People’s Army troops during the visit.

The regime's leader instructed the military to beef up drills to improve its combat capabilities to contain enemies with “overwhelming force” and control their “slightest attempt to ignite a war.”

The KCNA said Kim stressed that the military must usher in a new heyday of intensifying the war preparations in line with the requirements of the prevailing situation. 

The visit comes after South Korea and the United States kicked off their combined Freedom Shield military exercise on Monday. 

In response, South Korea’s Defense Ministry reproached the duplicity of Kim’s remarks regarding attempts to ignite a war, and that South Korea will overwhelmingly respond if North Korea initiates any provocation during the Freedom Shield drills.

North Korea’s defense ministry slammed the annual exercise in a statement on Tuesday, saying that the two countries have once again initiated provocative large-scale joint military exercises that amplify the unpredictability of the situation in the region.

[Photo : YONHAP News]