Hong Kong. July 30. INTERFAX-North Korean leader Kim Jong-un accused "hostile forces" of intensifying "desperate and persistent military exercises for aggression" and called on the army to make maximum efforts to increase combat effectiveness, KCNA reported on Friday.
"Currently, hostile forces systematically continue to increase their capabilities to launch a pre-emptive strike against the DPRK and are increasing weapons, while simultaneously activating all kinds of desperate and persistent military exercises on aggression," KCNA quotes the North Korean leader's speech at a seminar of military commanders and political workers held in Pyongyang from July 24 to 27.
"He called on all military and political personnel to make maximum efforts to increase the combat effectiveness of their units," the agency notes.
Kim Jong-un also called on the soldiers to devote their lives to protecting the North Korean people and their property.
According to him, the servicemen should be proud of the fact that they are "the creators of national happiness, the guards responsible for preserving the people's trust in the party."
According to KCNA, the seminar analyzed in detail the main shortcomings in the work of military units to implement the party's policy.
The North Korean leader's remarks came at a time when South Korea and the United States are considering whether and how they should conduct their annual military exercises, which usually take place in mid-August.
