NK leader observes combined arms military exercise

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed a combined arms exercise to mark the 80th anniversary of the Korean People's Army (KPA), a media report said Saturday.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) picked up in Seoul said without specifying the date of the exercise that Kim, who has been made the supreme commander of the KPA, "guided" the military maneuver. The anniversary of the North Korean armed forces fell on Wednesday.

The exercise involving aircraft, tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery and infantry from combined unit 655 was aimed at conducting retaliatory strikes against imperialists and enemies of the communist country by devastating the source of the threat, the KCNA said.

It said that the unit was ready and able to immediately strike at the heart of the enemy who had attacked the integrity of the regime.

The remarks follow threats made earlier in the week, when Pyongyang warned it will carry out a sacred war against South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and cut off all origins of provocation against the North.

The media report said ranking officers of the KPA such as vice marshals Choe Ryong-hae, Ri Yong-ho and Kim Jong-gak were present at the exercise.

Kim, who is in his late 20s, also holds the title of first secretary of the Worker's Party of Korea and the first chairman of the National Defence Commission. He inherited the country upon the death of his father Kim Jong-il late last year. The isolated country itself was founded by his grandfather Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994.

(Yonhap News)