(4th LD) N. Korean leader views military drill amid tension

(ATTN: ADDS N.K.'s state TV footage in paras 5-6)
By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has inspected a joint
training of military forces, the country's official media reported Sunday, two
days after the communist state threatened to attack South Korea over its
contingency plan.
North Korea's National Defense Commission on Friday warned military action over
Seoul's reported action plan to deal with any emergency in Pyongyang. It was the
first time for the organ, chaired by Kim and holding the highest authority in the
country, to come forward over inter-Korean issues since its establishment in
1998.
"The supreme commander acquainted himself with the units' performance of duty and
mounted an observations platform to watch servicemen in training," the Korean
Central News Agency said, without specifying the inspection date. "Training was
to defend our socialist state from invaders."
It is the first time for the reclusive state to disclose Kim's inspection of a
joint training by the ground, naval and air forces since he became supreme
commander of the country's military in December 1992.
Along with the report, the North's state TV revealed four photographs, one of
which showed a line of rocket launchers, erected about 30 degrees from the
ground.
The 240 mm multiple rocket launcher shown in the picture, produced in the 1980s,
has a range of 60 kilometers and poses a direct threat to the South Korean
capital, Seoul, and its adjacent regions, according to South Korean officials.
A South Korean military official said no unusual movements have been detected
about North Korean armed forces that are worth "extra vigilence."
"The military drills are not heavier than those a year earlier," the Seoul
official said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. "We are
closely watching North Korea's future course of action, but believe a military
provocation is unlikely at the moment."
North Korea's warning came shortly after its acceptance of long-suspended
humanitarian aid from Seoul, sparking anger from people here.
Seoul called North Korea's action "deeply regrettable" and denied speculation
over its so-called contingency plans in the case of Kim's sudden death, a
military coup or regime collapse in the North.
Kim apparently suffered a stroke in August 2008, stirring speculation over a
weakened leadership and possible backlashes in the hunger-stricken state.
North Korea is among the world's poorest countries, with an average per capita
income of US$1,150 in 2007, the last year for which figures are possible. It
operates more than 1.2 million troops, as opposed to Seoul's force of 655,000, a
number that includes 28,500 U.S. troops.
South Korea and the United States, who are members of a multinational deal aimed
at ending Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, are technically still at war with North
Korea, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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