Kim Jong-un Inspects Artillery Drill... In Response to ROK-US Joint Exercises

Recent Significant Increase in Military Sector Activities

Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, inspected military unit training for two consecutive days. This is analyzed as a countermeasure against the South Korea-U.S. regular joint exercise "Freedom Shield" (FS), which began on the 4th.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 8th, the Korean Central News Agency reported that Chairman Kim guided the artillery firing training of the large combined units of the Korean People's Army the previous day. The agency stated, "Long-range artillery units near the border, which carry out the critical military mission of deterring war by keeping the enemy's capital within striking range, participated in the training." It added, "The training was conducted with the purpose of enhancing the combat mobilization readiness and actual combat capabilities of the artillery forces."

Chairman Kim has recently increased his activities in the military field. According to a report released by the Institute for Unification Studies, Kim Jong-un's military activities during last winter (December last year to February 2024) totaled 11, which is three times the average of the past three winters (3.7 times).

Meanwhile, FS is currently known to be conducting large-scale firepower operations mainly in the frontline areas. The joint command post exercise is conducted through computer simulations linking the ground, naval, and air wargame models of South Korean and U.S. forces. It is reported that full-scale counterattacks will begin starting next week.