Pyongyang – Boasting about North Korea's military prowess, the hermit nation's Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un drove a newly developed battle tank on Thursday. North Korea unveiled the new battle tank during a training exercise which was conducted by the country's military. The exercises were conducted a day after the United States and South Korea conducted joint military drills in the region, Yonhap reported. The North Korean leader drove one of the newly launched tanks himself during the "training match" between tank units. 

While addressing the military, the North Korean Supreme Leader expressed his satisfaction and described the heavy machinery as “the most powerful tanks in the world," Yonhap reported. "He expressed great satisfaction over the fact that the new-type main battle tank successfully demonstrated its very excellent striking power and manoeuvrability, displaying its amazing militant performance for the first time in the tankmen's match," one of the military officials told North Korean state media KCNA. During the training, heavy tanks moved around various simulated harsh combat circumstances and fired rounds at the military targets. Earlier this month, North Korea's Defense Ministry vowed to carry out “responsible military activities” in reaction to the ongoing South Korea-US military exercises in the South. Kim eventually supervised the artillery firing deals. 

North Korea's growing aggression

During the Wednesday military training, Kim noted the importance of the tankmen in modern warfare and underscored the need to organize intensive exercises simulating an actual war and training matches so that "they can carry out any combat mission promptly and accurately in a contingency." Kim's latest inspection of military exercises came after Seoul and Washington staged an annual Freedom Shield exercise to strengthen deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, the 11-day drill ended later in the day. North Korea has dialled up its weapons testing activities since early 2022 in a bid to modernize and enlarge its nuclear and missile arsenals. In response to this, the US, South Korea and Japan conducted multiple joint military exercises in the region.