North Korean leader Kim Jong Un urged his forces to prepare for war at a military exercise this week, just as the United States and South Korea were winding up large-scale military drills.
Kim oversaw a tank crew training session in Pyongyang on Thursday and commended the troops’ abilities, describing them as the world’s most powerful tanks, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
According to KCNA, the North Korean leader also pushed his forces to undergo additional training simulations in preparation for war, calling on them to “take revolutionary measures” toward “perfecting war preparations.”
According to KCNA, at the end of the training session, Kim rode and drove a combat tank.
Kim has become increasingly belligerent toward the United States and South Korea over the last year. In January, Kim stated that he would no longer seek peaceful reunification with South Korea and ordered the removal of a statue representing that ambition.
His latest words come as the United States and South Korea wrap up an 11-day exercise on the Korean Peninsula.
Those military drills have infuriated North Korea, which has routinely responded with missile testing and provocative rhetoric about the United States and South Korea.
Tensions between North and South Korea have risen in recent years as mediation efforts under former President Trump’s administration failed.
The relationship reached a new low point last year when North Korea launched a spy satellite into space, prompting the termination of a military reduction pact near the border.
