N. Korean leader inspects front-line islets on inter-Korean sea border

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected front-line military units that launched the deadly 2010 artillery attack on South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island, a media report said Tuesday.

Kim's visit marks the third time since he took power in late

2011 that he toured the Jangjae and Mu islets that lie just a few kilometers north of the northern limit line (NLL) separating the two Koreas. He toured the small islands in August 2012 and early March of this year when the communist country ratcheted up tensions following its third nuclear test a few weeks earlier.

Artillery pieces from the islets manned by the Korean People's Army (KPA) shelled Yeonpyeong in November 2010, leaving four people dead.

The Korean Central News Agency monitored in Seoul did not confirm when the leader made the visits, but it said he checked troops barracks, mess halls, dwellings for residents and fortifications on the islets.

The media outlet said Kim lauded renovations done to living quarters and changes to the defenses of the detachments.

Compared to his last visit when Kim called on troops to be ready to destroy enemy targets at a moment's notice if the order is given, he made little threatening remarks.

The leader, meanwhile, enjoyed an art performance given by service personnel and took photos.

The KCNA said he was accompanied by Choe Ryong-hae, the director of the military's General Political Bureau; Armed Forces Minister Jang Jong-nam; and Ri Yong-gil, the chief of the Korean People's Army General Staff. (Yonhap News)