North Korea has discussed how to expand and intensify combat drills for the "perfecting" of its war preparedness in a meeting guided by leader Kim Jong Un, state-run media said Tuesday.
Kim's presence at the enlarged meeting Monday of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea marked the first reporting of his public activity by the official Korean Central News Agency since Jan. 2.
The meeting discussed in depth the major military and political tasks for 2023 and the long-term issues concerning the orientation for building the armed forces, according to KCNA.
Kim expressed his "expectation and belief" that the country's armed forces would perform "ever-victorious feats in strenuously upholding and vigorously carrying out" the party's tasks with "matchless military strength."
The gathering was held on the 60th anniversary of guidance provided by the country's founder Kim Il Sung in 1963 for the building of a powerful army, KCNA said.
It also came ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Korean People's Army's founding on Wednesday, when Pyongyang could stage a military parade featuring intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Meanwhile, North Korea has said it will hold a key party plenary meeting later this month to discuss agricultural development. Such a gathering was held late last year and it is unusual for another session to be organized after such a short time.
KCNA said Monday it is a "very important and urgent task" to establish the correct strategy for farming, amid speculation that the country has been suffering from a chronic food shortage.
==Kyodo
