North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a military exercise with a brand-new battle tank on Thursday. This was the isolated state’s most recent display of power as joint drills between South Korea and the US came to an end. With Wednesday’s maiden performance show, the new type of main battle tank effectively displayed its striking strength, a source of great satisfaction for Kim.
Kim Jong Un, Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam, and other high-ranking officials watched as tank battalions maneuvered through difficult war simulation scenarios. These tanks demonstrated accuracy in striking targets and dexterity in breaching defensive barriers. The unit that took Seoul, the capital of South Korea, during the Korean War was the 105th Tank Division, which was proclaimed the victor of the fictitious combat.
Kim Jong Un was shown in a picture peeking his head out of a tank, while official media claimed he drove the vehicle himself. Other photos, meanwhile, featured Kim wearing a leather jacket and being surrounded by military. They also featured tanks flying the North Korean flag and detonating ammo in a field.
The simulated conflict occurs just before the United States and South Korea’s combined yearly exercises were scheduled to end on Thursday. The exercises, dubbed the Freedom Shield drills, were the first since Pyongyang abandoned a military agreement between the two Koreas in 2018 with the intention of lowering tensions in November.
The combined troops carried out a joint live fire exercise at a training base in the city of Pocheon last week, according to the South Korean army, as part of the drills. According to an army statement, the live fire exercise included FA-50 fighter planes, armoured trucks, and tanks.
Such military exercises have traditionally been denounced by North Korea as war games, while Seoul has described them as strictly defensive. Kim made an appearance at the demonstration following his leadership of the nation’s military force, the Korean People’s Army, during an artillery firing exercise last week.
