Leather-clad Kim Jong Un pumps the air as he oversees ‘super-sized’ missile launcher exercises in North Korea – after taking a ride in a limousine gifted to him by Putin
A leather-clad Kim Jong Un was seen raising his fist in the air as he oversaw a live-fire exercise of a series of ‘newly equipped super-sized’ rocket launchers, after he was spotted driving around in a limousine Vladimir Putin had given him .
It came after North Korea fired several ballistic missiles when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Seoul, itself the first time the dictator launched such weapons in two months.
The state-run new agency Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the rocket launcher exercises conducted by North Korea’s Western Region Artillery Unit tested the “real war capabilities” of the massive 23-inch multiple rocket launchers .
“They fully demonstrated their excellent artillery marksmanship and quick and thorough combat readiness,” KCNA said.
The dictator told troops present at the launch that the new missiles would be a “central strike tool” in a war.
“The destructive offensive means at our military’s disposal should more thoroughly fulfill their missions of blocking and suppressing the possibility of war with the constant perfect readiness to collapse the enemy’s capital and the structure of its armed forces,” he said .
A leather-clad Kim Jong Un (pictured, left) was seen raising his fist in the air as he oversaw a live-fire exercise from a series of ‘newly equipped super-sized’ rocket launchers
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gestures as he leads a fire division training in North Korea
The dictator told troops present at the launch that the new missiles would be a “central strike tool” in a war
Kim was seen wearing a leather jacket as he watched the military exercise
Late last week he was seen in a luxury limousine gifted to him by dictator Vladimir Putin
Late last week he was seen in a luxury limousine gifted to him by fellow dictator Vladimir Putin.
He was sent the Aurus Senat limousine in February after it was shown to him during a visit to Russia in September.
Kim’s sister and senior official Kim Yo Jong said: “The special function of the private car is perfect and can be fully trusted.
“Kim Jong Un’s use of the private car gifted by the President of the Russian Federation is clear evidence of the friendship between North Korea and Russia, which is developing in a comprehensive manner at a new high level.”
South Korea accused Kim Jong Un on Monday of directly supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by supplying about 7,000 containers of military aid and ammunition since last year.
Fuel shortages have likely forced North Korea to scale back winter training activities for its soldiers in recent years
South Korea accused Kim Jong Un on Monday of directly supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
In exchange for sending possibly several million artillery shells and other supplies, North Korea has received more than 9,000 Russian containers, likely filled with aid.
The North Korean artillery unit’s ultra-large missile salvo firing exercise in the Western Region, at an unconfirmed location in North Korea
In return, North Korea may have received much-needed food, economic and military assistance aimed at upgrading Kim’s armed forces, according to South Korean officials and private experts. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the existence of an arms deal between the countries.
At a news conference in Seoul, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said the military believes the North, after initially relying on ships, is increasingly using its rail networks to send weapons supplies to Russia via the land border.
In exchange for sending possibly several million artillery shells and other supplies, North Korea has received more than 9,000 Russian containers, likely filled with aid, Shin said.
He expressed suspicion that Russia could supply North Korea with fuel, possibly in defiance of U.N. Security Council sanctions that tightly restrict the country’s imports of oil and petroleum products.
While fuel shortages have likely forced North Korea to scale back winter training activities for its soldiers in recent years, South Korea’s military estimates the North expanded such exercises in January and February, Shin said.