North Korea holds drills ahead of South-US war games

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has commanded a military exercise simulating an attack and capture of a frontline island in the South ahead of a new round of annual joint US-South Korea war games.

The drill was held amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula as American and South Korean troops prepare to hold another round of their annual military maneuvers early next month, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Saturday.

Artillery units were among the forces participating in the maneuver on the islets of Mu and Jangjae “in the biggest hotspot in the southernmost part of southwestern front,” according to the report.

The official news outlet also underlined that the North Korean leader called on the nation’s entire military force to step up preparations to “bring the anti-US confrontation to the final conclusion by crushing the enemies promptly in case they pounce upon” North Korea.

Washington-Seoul annual military exercises begin in February every year and last until April 18. The drills include Key Resolve, a computer-based simulation which focuses on practicing command and control procedures, and Foal Eagle involving air, ground and naval exercises for simulated combat in the field.

More than 12,500 US troops take part in the exercises.

Pyongyang says the military exercises are a practice for invasion, and the nation will take every measure to demonstrate its might as long as threats from the US persist.

Both Koreas have often blamed each other of recurrent naval incursions.