Pyongyang, March 8 (KCNA) -- The large combined units of the Korean People's Army (KPA) conducted an artillery firing drill at a time when the high fighting spirit of the entire army has been boosted day by day to dynamically usher in a new heyday of bolstering up the military capability for self-defence.

Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), guided the artillery firing drill of the KPA large combined units on March 7.

Accompanying him was Pak Jong Chon, secretary of the WPK Central Committee and vice-chairman of the WPK Central Military Commission.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un was greeted at the training ground by Kang Sun Nam, minister of National Defence of the DPRK, Ri Yong Gil, chief of the KPA General Staff, and commanders of the KPA large combined units.

The drill was aimed at increasing the combat readiness posture and actual war capability of artillerymen by inspecting and evaluating the firepower strike capability of the artillery units under the KPA large combined units in the way of power demonstration and competition.

The drill started with the power demonstration firing of the long-range artillery sub-units near the border who have put the enemy's capital in their striking range and are fulfilling important military missions for war deterrence. The artillery sub-units selected from the large combined units were to take the firing positions according to the order of firing set by lot and fire at the targets and then to be ranked by summing up the number of hits and the time taken for fulfilling their firepower missions.

The artillerymen, who had the honor of conducting the drill under the guidance of Kim Jong Un, were filled with the ardent desire to fully display their fighting efficiency which they have developed as the world's strongest branch of the army, of which everybody else is afraid, under the guidance of the great brilliant commander who clarified the unique outlook on attaching importance to the artillery and the philosophy of the artillery and continues devoting his great efforts to developing the Juche-based artillery force.

Kim Jong Un mounted the observation post and was briefed on the plan for the drill and guided the drill.

In the drill, the commanders of the KPA large combined units took charge of fire control over the artillery sub-units of their units and decided on the method of firing the artillery pieces according to their determination.

The moment the commanders gave the order to fire, the artillerymen opened fire.

The valiant artillerymen involved in the drill fully displayed their rapid and accurate marksmanship they have steadily refined in the days of actual war drills for the mobilization of artillerymen for war, always aware of their mission for defending the country, and thus strikingly demonstrated the high combat capability of the all-round artillerymen prepared as a-match-for-a-hundred fighters.

Kim Jong Un expressed his great satisfaction over the fact that all the artillery sub-units involved in the drill are fully ready for constant mobilization for battle.

He personally went to the firing position and warmly congratulated the brave artillery combatants who fully displayed the might of the KPA and the honor of a-match-for-a-hundred artillerymen.

He stressed the need to train all the artillerymen of the whole army into experts in artillery engagement and a-match-for-a-hundred crack gunners by further boosting their enthusiasm for training and emulation and thus prepare them to rapidly and accurately fulfill any combat mission assigned to them in actual battle as in the present drill, and set forth important tasks for rounding off the artillery war preparations.

He said that it is necessary to push forward more vigorously the work for making preparations for regular combat mobilization so that all the artillery sub-units can take the initiative with merciless and rapid strikes at the moment of their entry into an actual war and organize more effectively the actual drill for remarkably increasing the combat capability of the artillerymen with realistic and scientific training goals envisaging different situations and thus continue to increase the might of the artillery, the pride and core of the KPA, in every way.

On receiving his great trust and important instructions, the commanding officers of the KPA and all the artillery combatants who took part in the drill were filled with the strong will and revolutionary enthusiasm to bring about a great innovation in this year's struggle for increasing their combat efficiency without fail by making strenuous efforts for the new year's training, renewing their faith in the Party's policy on effecting a revolution in training and its idea of attaching importance to the artillery. -0-