DPRK top leader guides tactical rocket firing drill again

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted a tactical rocket firing drill of the strategic force of the Korean People's Army (KPA), and its top leader Kim Jong Un gave field guidance on the drill, the official KCNA news agency reported Thursday.

The drill, which was carried out in the country's western sector of the front, once again fully demonstrated the strong combat capability of the tactical rockets, said the report.

Kim expressed great satisfaction that the drill was successfully staged in combination with rapid movement as required by modern warfare, it said.

"However fair-minded and just we are, we may become a bargaining chip for the strong and our precious history inherited with blood will lose its shine if we are weak," he said.

Kim also expected the strategic force to step up combat readiness and be ready to fire rockets in military drills that simulate real battles, according to the KCNA.

The DPRK fired two short-range ballistic missiles ranging about 500 km into its eastern waters from a site in western Hwanghae Province early Wednesday, South Korean local media has reported.

It was the second tactical firing drill of the KPA strategic force that Kim had guided in recent two weeks, and also the DPRK's 13th launch of missiles or artillery shells this year. The DPRK has launched more than 90 short- and medium- range missiles and shells since Feb. 21.

The KPA strategic force spokesman said last Thursday that the DPRK will continue firing tactical missiles and not to give up all kinds of ultra-precision fire strike means, as it is an aboveboard right of self-defense which concerns the independence and dignity of the Korean people.