North Korea’s Kim calls for making border with South Korea an ‘impregnable fortress’
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for adjusting the training system to reflect changes in modern warfare and the development of North Korea’s military.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said plans to strengthen front-line units on the border with South Korea, as well as other major units, were key to “more thoroughly deter war”, state media KCNA reported on May 18.
Mr Kim’s comments on bolstering military strength on the border to make it an “impregnable fortress” came at a meeting on May 17 of commanders of divisions and brigades across the army, KCNA said.
He called for adjusting the training system and expanding practical drills to reflect changes in modern warfare and the development of North Korea’s military, according to KCNA.
Mr Kim also said planned projects should redefine operational concepts in line with rapid modernisation of military and technical equipment, and apply them to unit combat training.
KCNA said Mr Kim stressed ideological loyalty and vigilance against the “archenemy”, a term North Korea has used for South Korea.
The two Koreas are still technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice rather than a peace agreement.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said on May 18 that it appeared to be Mr Kim’s first reported meeting with division and brigade commanders since he took power, adding that Seoul would continue to manage military tensions and seek to build trust.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on the same day that North Korean troops had stepped up fortification work since March in areas near the land border between the two Koreas, including building walls.
Mr Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said Mr Kim’s reference to fortifying the “southern border” suggested that Pyongyang may also strengthen its military presence on its maritime boundaries with the South, such as the disputed Northern Limit Line.
Mr Kim’s references to modern warfare and redefining operations “in all spheres” likely reflected lessons Pyongyang has drawn from the war in Ukraine and Middle East conflicts, including the use of drones, precision strikes and electronic warfare, Mr Hong said. REUTERS
