Donned in leather jacket, North Korea's Kim Jong Un 'drives' new battle tank in mock battle

North Korea once again carried out a military demonstration on Wednesday, this time with a new battle tank. Interestingly, Kim Jong Un, the leader of the reclusive state, drove the tank himself and expressed “great satisfaction”.

The military demonstration was the latest show of force by North as South Korea and the United States were due to wrap up joint drills, known as the Freedom Shield exercises, on Thursday.

North Korea has long condemned such military drills as rehearsals for war, while Seoul has portrayed the exercises as purely defensive.

According to a report by state media KCNA, the “training match” was designed to inspect the combat capabilities of tank crews and acquaint them with combat action on different tactical missions.

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The North Korean leader, donning a leather jacket and surrounded by troops, witnessed tanks with the North Korean flag blasting ammunition on a field. He expressed “great satisfaction” that the new type of main battle tank successfully demonstrated its striking power in its first performance display on March 13.

“Swiftly weaving their way through various worst combat circumstances, heavy tanks hit targets at once with powerful strikes and broke through strong defence lines with high manoeuvrability,” the report by the state media said.

In one of the photographs published by KCNA, Kim was seen with his head peaking out of a tank.

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The report also said the 105th Tank Division was declared the winner of the mock battle. This unit had occupied the South Korean capital Seoul during the Korean War.

Last week, Kim guided an artillery firing drill by the Korean People’s Army, the country’s military force that involved units near the border that are in firing range of “the enemy’s capital,” KCNA said, referring to Seoul, which has nearly 10 million residents.

With inputs from Reuters