North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a concert marking the 80th founding anniversary of the Central Military Band of the Ministry of National Defense, praising it as a symbol of the country's armed forces, state media reported Wednesday. The event took place the previous day.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a concert on Tuesday to mark the 80th founding anniversary of the Central Military Band of the Ministry of National Defense, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The event was also attended by key officials, including Defense Minister No Kwang-chol and Kim Song-gi, director of the military's general political bureau.
Kim praised the band for displaying a "tremendous might incomparable with any military hardware" and for encouraging the Korean People's Army (KPA) with revolutionary military music for decades, KCNA reported. He "highly appreciated that the Central Military Band ... is the face of our state and symbol of the KPA."
Recently, Kim has ramped up inspections of military units to encourage troops amid efforts to boost internal solidarity ahead of key anniversaries, including the April 15 birthday of late state founder Kim Il-sung.