North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has dismissed his top general and called for stepping up war preparations \u201cin an offensive way,\u201d including boosting weapons production and conducting more drills, state media reported Thursday. The developments came at a meeting of the Central Military Commission on Wednesday, the Korean Central News Agency reported, just days after Kim inspected several major arms factories. The military gathering comes as Seoul and Washington prepare for major joint drills later this month, which the North views as rehearsals for invasion and has repeatedly warned could trigger \u201coverwhelming\u201d action in response. At the meeting, Kim dismissed chief of the general staff Pak Su Il, replacing him with Vice Marshal Ri Yong Gil, KCNA said without giving further details. KCNA said the agenda of Wednesday\u2019s meeting was \u201cthe issue of making full war preparations\u201d including \u201csecuring more powerful strike means\u201d to ensure \u201cperfect military readiness for a war.\u201d Kim called for \u201call the munitions industrial establishments to push ahead with the mass-production of various weapons and equipment,\u201d the report said.\u201cHe also called for actively conducting actual war drills to efficiently operate (the) newly deployed latest weapons and equipment,\u201d it added. Kim reached an \u201cimportant conclusion on further stepping up the war preparations of the KPA in an offensive way,\u201d KCNA reported. The meeting also discussed preparations for a massive parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of North Korea on September 9.Last month, Pyongyang held a major military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, with analysts describing the event as \u201cthe largest, most overt North Korean display of nuclear-capable systems.\u201d North Korea also held a large defense expo to coincide with the parade, with Kim giving the visiting Russian defense minister a tour of of the country\u2019s newest and most advanced weaponry, including ballistic missiles and spy drones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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