‘Real War’ threat by N. Korea's Kim marks escalating provocation toward West

By AFP and Global Watch | 2025-07-29

North Korea is escalating tensions on the peninsula once again as leader Kim Jong Un staged a high-profile artillery drill and called on troops to prepare "for real war" and to crush enemies "in every battle."

The live-fire contest -- broadcast on July 24 by Korean Central Television -- featured volleys of shells launched into the sea under Kim's watchful eye. It marks Pyongyang's latest military provocation amid rising concerns over its deepening support for Russia's war in Ukraine and renewed threats toward the South.

Kim urged his military to be ready "for real war" as he observed the live firing, Pyongyang state media said.

Kim's remarks follow the North's deployment of troops and weapons to help Russia during its more than three-year-long offensive in Ukraine.

Video footage aired by state-run Korean Central Television showed soldiers from artillery units firing shells towards the sea.

Kim is seen looking through binoculars at an observation post, flanked by two military officers, but the location was not disclosed.

He urged the soldiers to be capable of "destroying the enemy in every battle," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported in an English dispatch.

South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have reported Pyongyang sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Kursk province, Russia, last year, along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems.

'Inevitable' confrontation

About 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia against the Ukrainian troops who surged into Kursk province last August, Seoul has said.

The Ukrainians held large parts of Kursk province until March and re-entered it in May.

Kim offered Moscow his full support for its war in Ukraine during recent talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, state media reported previously.

The two heavily sanctioned nations signed a military deal last year, including a mutual defense clause, during a rare visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang.

The latest provocation comes as Kim has vowed that the country's nuclear program will continue indefinitely as a confrontation with its enemies is "inevitable."

Kim gave those remarks, reported by state-run media in January, as he toured a nuclear-material production facility.

Kim said 2025 would be a "crucial year" for bolstering North Korea's nuclear forces, KCNA reported.

"It is our firm political and military stand and invariable noble task and duty to develop the state's nuclear counteraction posture indefinitely," Kim said, according to KCNA.

The report, and Kim's nuclear factory visit, followed Pyongyang's test firing on January 25 of sea-to-surface strategic guided cruise missiles.

North Korea last year tested various nuclear-capable systems, including a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile. Such missiles have a minimum range of 5,500km and are primarily designed to deliver nuclear warheads.