North Korea leader Kim Jong Un visits military training base

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SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday visited the military training base of the special operation units of the Korean People’s Army, state media reported on Saturday.

Kim mounted the observation post to watch the general tactical training and small-arms shooting contest conducted by combatants of various special operation units under the training program, KCNA state news agency said.

“Strengthening of the special operation forces constitutes a major component of the army-building strategy at present,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

Kim said that strengthening special operations forces is a key part of the current military strategy, and he outlined a series of major tasks aimed at enhancing their operational capabilities. KCNA does not provide details of major tasks.

Kim also conducted the test-fire of a sniper rifle, to be newly supplied to special operation units, and learned about its results, expressing satisfaction over the performance and power of the sniper rifle developed by North Korean technology.

North Korean special operations units are among the thousands of troops that Pyongyang has deployed to Russia to fight in the Ukraine war, South Korea has said.

Analysts say North Korea could benefit from providing weapons and troops by gaining experienced insight from operating on a battlefield, but according to Kyiv, they have sustained heavy losses.

Moscow and Pyongyang initially dismissed reports of the deployment, but in October 2024 Russian President Vladimir Putin did not deny that North Korean troops were in Russia, and a North Korean official has said any such move would be lawful.

(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Josh Smith; Editing by Leslie Adler)