N. Korean leader observes artillery exercise: report

SEOUL, March 15 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visited a field artillery unit and observed a live fire exercise, the communist country's media reported Sunday.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim, who heads the National Defense
Commission, toured Unit 1811 but did not disclose the location or date.
The report said the exercise demonstrated the fighting spirit and resolute
determination of the North to wipe out aggression in a single blow and added Kim
expressed great satisfaction at the level of preparedness displayed by
servicemen.
Korean People's Army Vice Marshal Kim Yong-chun and other high-ranking military
officers and members of the ruling Worker's Party of Korea accompanied the North
Korean leader.
Pyongyang watchers here said that while the North Korean leader frequently visits
military bases, the review of the artillery unit is significant because it marks
the third such tour this year.
North Korea has threatened to take action against Seoul for raising tensions on
the Korean Peninsula by participating in the annual Key Resolve and Foal Eagle
military exercise with the United States, which ends Friday.
The North has also said it will disregard the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de
facto inter-Korean border in the Yellow Sea, and warned it will retaliate if
South Korean vessels intrude even a millimeter into its waters.
South and North Korean naval ships fought two deadly battles in the waters near
Yeonpyeong Island in 1999 and 2002.
A White Paper published by South Korea's Defense Ministry last year said the
North has developed and tested a wide range of new anti-ship missiles. More
recently, the North's shore batteries near the NLL conducted live fire exercises,
according to reports.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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