North Korean leader oversees live-fire drill

SEOUL - Agence France-Presse

This photo shows a live shell firing drill being conducted by N Korea at an unconfirmed location. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il oversaw the drill. AFP photo

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has overseen a live-fire artillery drill near the disputed sea border with South Korea, state media said as the South’s prime minister visited the flashpoint area.

The Yellow Sea border has witnessed bloody North-South clashes in the past and, with military tensions at their highest level for years, is seen as the prime location for another confrontation.

He made an inspection tour of the same artillery units last week that was widely covered by state TV and the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). During the latest drill, “shells intensively hit the imaginary targets of the enemy while the roar of the artillery pieces rocked heaven and earth,” KCNA said. “A modern war is an artillery war,” Kim was quoted as saying.

 North Korea has threatened to unleash a second Korean War, backed by nuclear weapons, in response to U.N. sanctions imposed after its third atomic test in February and joint South Korea-U.S. military maneuvers.

 South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-Won visited yesterday one of the frontline islands near the disputed sea border, and urged troops to prepare for any aggression from the North. The island visited by the premier, Yeonpyeong, was the target of North Korean shelling in November 2010 that killed four people, including two civilians.