North Korea says it will expand and intensify military drills to ensure its armed forces are prepared for any war.
The decision came at a meeting of the central military commission of the ruling Workers’ Party yesterday that was chaired by leader Kim Jong Un.
According to state media, top of the agenda was the issue of constantly expanding and intensifying the operation and combat drills of the Korean People’s Army strictly perfecting the preparedness for war.
The commission’s meeting took place with North Korea widely expected to stage a military parade on Wednesday to mark the founding anniversary of its armed forces and showcase the latest hardware from its growing nuclear weapons and missile programme.
Commercial satellite imagery has shown North Korean troops practicing in formations in Pyongyang.
Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a briefing that the South Korean military had detected a significant increase in personnel and vehicles in areas related to parade rehearsals but declined to share a specific assessment on when the event would take place.He added that the South Korean military was closely monitoring developments related to North Korea’s possible creation of a new military bureau related to missiles but did not provide further details. Some analysts say that the new department could possibly handle the development of nuclear warheads and ballistic systems.
