Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Guides Firing Drill of Artillery Units in Western Area

Pyongyang, March 19 (KCNA) -- In the stirring period when combat training for bolstering up the national defence capability in every way is being staged across the entire army in the flames of effecting a revolution in training kindled by the Party Central Committee, there was a firing drill of the artillery units in the western area, which are in charge of an important firing assignment and equipped with super-large multiple rocket launchers, part of a new generation of core striking means of the Korean People's Army (KPA).

Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, guided the salvo drill of a firepower sub-unit under the relevant unit on March 18.

Kim Jong Sik, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, and Jang Chang Ha, general director of the DPRK Missile Administration, reviewed the drill.

The drill was aimed at proving the might and the real war capabilities of the weapon system through the sudden maneuvers and salvos of 600mm multiple rocket sub-units, raising the combat morale of rocket artillerymen and checking and enhancing their readiness posture.

The artillerymen who came to demonstrate the battery salvo for the first time with the super-large multiple rocket launchers which appeared as a highly powerful weapon system without an parallel in the world on the initiative and under the guidance of the WPK were filled with the great enthusiasm and combat morale to present pleasure and satisfaction to the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un who has made a ceaseless frontline journey for strengthening the military muscles while bolstering up the strongest national defence capability.

Going round the firing positions, Kim Jong Un acquainted himself with the automatic fire control system, the combat deployment time and tactical specifications of the transporter- erector-launchers, and watched the artillerymen's handling of equipment.

After being briefed on the firing drill plan of the super-large multiple rocket batteries at an observation post, he gave an instruction to conduct the drill.

When the order to fire was issued from the central observation post, the combatants of the batteries simultaneously opened fire with the confidence of a-match-for-a-hundred artillerymen.

Massive shells that spurted out of the gun barrels with a thundering explosion flew to the targets, vomiting the flames of annihilating the enemy.

In the drill, the artillerymen fully demonstrated their excellent marksmanship and prompt and thoroughgoing combat readiness, consolidated in every way in the crucible of rounding off the artillery war preparations with the combat capability during the days of preparing themselves as master gunners possessed of extraordinary real war capabilities.

Expressing great satisfaction over the fact that the artillerymen displayed high maneuverability and accurate and strong striking power in carrying out their sudden combat mission, Kim Jong Un highly appreciated that all the service personnel are fully versed in the Korean-style super-large multiple rocket launcher system, which is the strongest in the world, and are remarkably increasing the militant might with their full combat readiness.

After the salvos of the batteries, a test was conducted to simulate an air explosion by a super-large multiple rocket at a preset altitude above the target.

Expressing the strong will to completely remove the risks of armed conflict and war and firmly defend peace, stability and sovereignty of the country with the overwhelming military muscles as a deterrent, Kim Jong Un set forth important strategic tasks for bolstering up the artillery forces and rounding off the artillery war preparations.

Stressing that the position and role of the newly-equipped super-large multiple rocket launchers in war preparations are very important, he said that as 600 mm super-large multiple rocket launchers would perform their strategic duties as part of the core central striking means of our armed forces, together with other effective and destructive offensive means, the modernization of the artillery forces should continue to be stepped up on the basis of them.

He said it is necessary to further impress upon the enemies that if an armed conflict and a war break out, they can never avoid disastrous consequences, adding that in the future, the destructive offensive means possessed by our army should more thoroughly fulfill their missions to block and deter the risks of war with the constant perfect preparedness to destroy the capital of the enemy and the structure of its military forces.

He stressed the need to continuously increase the number of batteries of super-large multiple rocket launchers and indicated the tasks and ways for it, referring to the principled issues that serve as guidelines in their operational deployment and application of operation.

He called for fully preparing long-range artillerymen as the main combatants and the mainstay of war to annihilate the enemy without hesitation according to their assignments in contingency.

He expressed expectation and belief that all the artillerymen of the entire army would always and strictly keep their perfect war posture and high alert, make a great innovation in rounding off war preparations and thus fully prepare themselves to be heroic artillerymen who would take the lead in making a breakthrough in victory of battle with the most powerful and merciless shellfire of justice in a grim moment.

All the combatants who took part in the drill were filled with a firm determination to fulfill their sacred missions and duties to devotedly defend the Party, revolution, country and people at the risk of their lives by putting spurs to the completion of artillery war preparations, bearing in mind the deep trust of Kim Jong Un who personally guided their drill, gave them precious instructions for developing the artillery forces into the first branch of the People's Army both in name and reality and inspired them with the invincible strategy and fighting spirit of annihilating the enemy. -0-

www.kcna.kp (Juche113.3.19.)