Pyongyang, May 9 (KCNA) -- The US and its vassal states are staging a series of nuclear operation drills on the Korean peninsula and in its vicinity after making a nuclear war against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea a fait accompli and opening to the public an extremely adventurous scenario for a nuclear war. This reckless act of aggravating the situation requires that the armed forces of the DPRK maintain a rapid reaction capability and thoroughgoing war posture.

A joint striking drill was conducted on May 8 to raise the fighting efficiency of long-range artillery and missile soldiers’ sub-units on the eastern front amid intensive combat training at all levels of the Korean People’s Army being organized and conducted to improve the whole army’s overwhelming capability for countering a war true to the spirit of the Eleventh Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un guided the joint striking drill of long-range artillery and missile systems.

He was accompanied by Pak Jong Chon, Jo Chun Ryong and Kim Jong Sik, senior officials of the WPK Central Committee, Jang Chang Ha, general director of the Missile Administration of the DPRK, and Kim Yong Hwan, president of the Academy of Defence Sciences.

Mobilized in the drill were 600mm multiple rocket launchers and tactical ballistic missile Hwasongpho-11 Ka.

The drill was aimed at making the sub-units master the procedures for the operation of the above-mentioned guns and missile attack systems according to the national combined nuclear weapons management system.

A spokesman for the Ministry of National Defence of the DPRK, introducing the drill, said that it would be a sufficient measure of action to show the rapid counteraction posture and capability of the armed forces of the DPRK capable of coping with the change of the military situation aggravated by the enemy in the sensitive region.

Prior to firing, the operational reliability of the Haekpangasoe system was inspected layer by layer.

There took place detailed trainings for making all the sub-units master the procedures and processes for rapidly switching over to the nuclear counterattack posture and a separate special lecture for the commanding officers on the operation of the counterattack system.

Then, the firepower sub-units fired simultaneously and in order, and separately or jointly, at different enemy targets in the assigned direction and distance.

The goal of the drill was achieved, and the reliability of the command and mobilization system capable of quickly reacting to any nuclear crisis was verified.

Stressing the need to steadily enhance the pivotal role of the nuclear forces in all aspects of the strategies to deter war and fight it, Kim Jong Un said that it is very important to constantly perfect the regular combat readiness of the nuclear forces.

He said that the DPRK should continue to direct efforts to steadily improving the long-range precision striking capability and efficiency of weapon systems, proceeding from the security environment of our state and the actual requirements of modern warfare.

He affirmed that the radical growth of the artillery forces, portending many changes in the practice of our future military actions, will provide greater and different possibilities for securing the operations capabilities of our army.

Saying that it is the consistent policy of the WPK on building up the armed forces to preferentially intensify the qualitative superiority of the artillery forces with an unshakable viewpoint that strengthening the artillery immediately means strengthening the fighting efficiency of the army and the nation’s defence capability, Kim Jong Un set forth important tasks for further raising the combat reliability of the tactical nuclear weapon systems and steadily expanding their operations space in a combined way. -0-