North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw a joint offensive drill featuring new battle tanks at Pyongyang Training Base No. 60 on March 19. His daughter Ju-ae was seen in the driving seat of one tank, and Kim praised the tanks as 'superior' and ordered their extensive equipping of ground troops.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw a coordinated offensive tactical drill of infantrymen's and tankmen's sub-units on March 19 at the Pyongyang Training Base No. 60 under the Capital City Defence Corps of the Korean People's Army, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The drill featured various tests of the new main battle tank's active protection system, which intercepted all anti-tank missiles and drones from different positions and directions, proving the efficiency of its superior active protection system. Kim described the tank as 'very superior' and 'unequaled in the world in its striking power and mobility,' as well as in its self-defense capacity. He noted that special attention was paid to improving survivability during development, highlighting its mobile self-defensive complex capable of detecting threats from all directions and striking anti-tank guided missiles and drones with high precision. 'It is a great change that our armored forces that were ineffective during night operations have completely overcome their combat limitations,' Kim said. 'From now on, our ground forces will be equipped with these superior tanks extensively.' He urged steady improvements to the tank's performance to keep pace with modern warfare trends and rapid successes in completing war preparations across army units. State media photos and video showed his daughter Ju-ae, believed to be groomed as successor, driving a tank carrying Kim and military personnel, her latest military event appearance. The drill aimed to familiarize subunits with coordinated offensive actions to strike, raid, and occupy enemy anti-armor defense lines, involving drones striking command posts, anti-tank missiles from armored cars, and rear subunits destroying enemy drones and helicopters. It occurred on the last day of the 11-day South Korea-U.S. Freedom Shield exercise, which North Korea denounces as a war rehearsal. The tank appears to be the Chonma-20, unveiled at last October's military parade. Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said the drill may demonstrate lessons from North Korea's Russia-Ukraine war participation, including drones' central role in ground battles.
