North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has stressed the necessity of wartime preparations during his Monday visit to an exercise of sharpshooter units of the air force and and Anti-Aircraft Force.
“it is necessary to wage a drill without notice under the simulated conditions of real war like this and examine it, not being affected by rule and formality, and thus make it an opportunity for improving the preparedness of KPA units for war and examining and training them” Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted Kim as saying.
On Sunday, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced that the United States and South Korea had agreed to hold off the upcoming joint military air exercises in a show of good faith to promote a denuclearization dialogue with Pyongyang.
After the first US-North Korea summit in June 2018, President Donald Trump announced that he intended to suspend joint military exercises with South Korea, calling them expensive and inappropriate in dialogue with Pyongyang. The allies have since canceled several drills that North Korea deems as a provocation. The wintertime air exercise in question, code-named Vigilant Ace, was for the first time suspended in 2018.
