North Korea’s Kim shuns coronavirus protective gear to ‘guide’ artillery drills

Kim Jong-un’s public appearance was his second in a week to oversee military drills, despite concerns about the possible spread of the coronavirus

Official photographs showed him without any protective gear, unlike all the aides accompanying him who were wearing identical black masks

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seen in a picture released by North Korean Central News Agency following a military exercise. Photo: DPA

Published: 2:22pm, 13 Mar 2020Updated: 10:02pm, 13 Mar 2020

North Korean state media said Friday that leader Kim Jong-un has supervised another round of artillery exercises, the latest in a series of exercises believed aimed at boosting its fighting capability.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim guided an artillery firing competition between army units on Thursday. It said the competition was meant to evaluate the readiness of artillery forces and improve the form, programme and method of artillery drills.

Kim praised artillery troops for their “militant enthusiasm and attitude” and ordered authorities to hold similar artillery firing competitions on a regular basis, according to KCNA.

Kim’s public appearance was his second in a week to oversee military drills, despite concerns about the possible spread of the coronavirus.

The artillery fire competition between units of the Korean People's Army Corps earlier this month. Photo: Reuters

North Korea, sandwiched between China and South Korea, has not confirmed any cases of the coronavirus but has stepped up border checks and imposed quarantine measures.

Photographs published by KCNA showed Kim watching the artillery drills without any protective gear, unlike all the aides accompanying him who were wearing identical black masks.