DPRK leader praises army's full preparedness to "liberate southern part of country"

PYONGYANG - Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), has supervised a competition by the tank units of the country's army and praised its full preparedness to "liberate the southern part of the country."

The Korean Central News Agency reported Saturday that Kim guided the Korean People's Army (KPA) Tank Crew Competition 2017 and designated a unit responsible for combat in the Seoul area, capital of South Korea as the winner.

"Tankmen of the Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards 105th Tank Division won the competition," said the report.

Kim described the performance of the tanks as "excellent" and said "it was marvelous to see the tanks crossing even a steep hill at the maximum speed ... representing symbol of the KPA and they are like iron fists," according to the report.

"The competition clearly showed that the KPA tank crew are fully prepared to be stalwart fighters capable of independently and skillfully carrying out any combat tasks in the operational areas for liberating the southern part of the country," he said.

The DPRK has warned the United States and South Korea of its own preemptive strike aimed at foiling any attempt by the US and South Korean forces to stage "special operations" against its leadership and strategic military installations.

Pyongyang accuses Washington and Seoul of preparing for beheading strikes against the DPRK leadership and destroying its nuclear and missile bases in their ongoing military exercises "Key Resolve" and "Foal Eagle."