North Korea said on Tuesday that leader Kim Jong-un supervised a long-range artillery strike drill a day earlier to inspect his forces' "sudden military counterattack capability."
The North's state-run Korean Central News Agency said Kim "guided another firepower strike drill of long-range artillery sub-units of the Korean People's Army on the front."
It said artillery men fired on Kim's orders and "hit the with excellent marksmanship," adding that the leader expressed "great satisfaction" with the result, urging the unit to "go on in the direction of further strengthening the artillery training,"
There were no details about the weapons used or where the drill took place.
On Monday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North fired three short-range projectiles off its east coast in what appeared to be part of an artillery drill involving multiple rocket launchers, marking the second time in a week the North tested weapons.
In response, South Korea's presidential office accused the North of raising tensions, saying such military exercises do not help efforts to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula.
The U.S. State Department also called on North Korea to avoid provocations and return to nuclear talks after the latest firings.■
<Photo: Yonhap News>
