N Korean leader Kim Jong-un directs island assault drill, state media reports
Kim Jong-un observes North Korean forces pounding mock enemy positions as large-scale manoeuvres are seen as a display of pique over Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent visit to Seoul
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned the South would "regret bitterly" any incursion of their disputed sea border as he directed a large-scale mock assault on an island, state media reported yesterday.
The joint landing drill involving the army, navy and air force followed a series of missile tests in the past week - seen by some as a display of pique over President Xi Jinping's two-day state visit to Seoul.
The mock assault is apparently aimed at five islands controlled by the South near the southwestern part of North Korea. Seoul suspects the islands, which provide outposts for the South, will be the first target for the North in the case of an armed conflict.
"Participating in the drill were combatants, artillery pieces of various calibres, combat ships including submarines, and formations of pursuit fighters, bombers and transport planes of units," the North's Korean Central News Agency said.
Kim watched the North Korean forces successively pound the mock enemy positions through "the well-organised coordinated operation as required by the modern warfare", and "deadly firepower strikes" on the island were followed by infantry landings and paratroops.