North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un paid another inspection visit to the military this week, the country's state media said Thursday, as the young leader consolidates his power in the military-backed regime.
It is the second time this year the official (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) has reported on a military visit by Kim Jong-un, who rose to power last month as the chosen heir to his father Kim Jong-il. The former leader died of heart failure on Dec. 17.
The first inspection came on New Year's Day, when Kim Jong-un visited a tank division shortly after being declared supreme commander of the communist nation's 1.1 million-strong military.
On Wednesday, the leader in his late 20s visited army Unit 169, or the "O Jung Hup-led Seventh Regiment," the KCNA said.
Kim Jong-un "called upon the unit to conduct combat and political training well, not forgetting the loving care Kim Jong-il showed for service personnel," it said in a dispatch.
Kim was accompanied by Ri Yong-ho, chief of the General Staff of the (North) Korean People's Army, and other key military figures, it added.
The successive visits to the military are seen as an indication that Kim will inherit his father's "military-first" policy, although the reclusive nation continues to be watched closely for any clues on its future course. (Yonhap)