Kim Jong-un oversees successive military drills by North Korean forces

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly overseen two consecutive military drills amid tensions in the region. Following the firing by multiple rocket launchers, Kim is said to have guided a night exercise undertaken by fighter pilots.

The reclusive leader watched an artillery competition of the multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) as they fired projectiles under war-simulating conditions. Kim ordered his troops to be ready at any given time, both at day and night, so as to strike intended targets, according to the state-run mouthpiece Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The report does not mention the exact date of the drills.

In addition to the rocket-firing drills, the North Korean leader also proceeded to monitor a night assault flight manoeuvre during which he checked the "sortie preparedness of the pursuit planes at the stopping place".

Kim said: "As I emphasised whenever watching the rehearsal of fighter pilots, the battle for defending the territorial air of the country is not fought, depending on weather or time, and a modern warfare is waged in the worst conditions. It is, therefore, necessary to fully prepare the fighter pilots as able airmen and all-round ones capable of successfully carrying out any aerial combat duty in any adversity by conducting similar drill in the future.

"Thanks to the death-defying corps of the airmen possessed of the indomitable spirit of defending the country and the self-blasting spirit, the sky of the country will always remain azure."

Pyongyang has been intensifying its military activities in the last few weeks owing to several factors including the tightening of UN-led sanctions on the country. It has also raised concerns over the North's sabre-rattling to prove its military might when there is political turbulence in neighbouring South Korea, its arch rival.