[2017-04-03]









Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, oversaw the KPA Tankmen’s Contest-2017.
He was accompanied by KPA Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong So, director of the General Political Bureau of the KPA; KPA Vice Marshal Ri Myong Su, chief of the General Staff of the KPA; Army Colonel General Ri Yong Gil, first deputy chief of the General Staff and director of the General Operations Bureau of the KPA; and Army Colonel General Yun Tong Hyon, vice-minister of the People’s Armed Forces.
The contest, which brought together a dozen of crews selected from large combined units, was held in such a way that each tank started in the order set by a draw and shot at moving and fixed targets as it drove along a 3.6-kilometre track with obstacles set up on eight lines. Total rankings were decided by putting together driving and shooting scores.
The Supreme Leader was briefed on the contest programme at the observation post before giving an order to start the competition.
The tanks rushed one after another to overcome different obstacles set up in simulation of shallows, pontoon bridge, hillside, anti-tank barricades, and hillside trenches and roads, while destroying targets with accuracy.
Seeing the tanks clawing their way with force, the Supreme Leader said they are wonderful with their performance being excellent, adding that it is a sight to behold that they are storming over a steep barricade at the maximum speed as if they were flying over it. Indeed, tanks are symbolic of our People’s Army and they are its iron fist, he said with delight.
The Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards 105th Tank Division topped the rankings, followed by Large Combined Units 966 and 567 for the second and third places among others.
Kim Jong Un appreciated the contest and gave important instructions on stepping up combat preparedness of the tank units and subunits, stressing the need to focus on the training of overcoming barricades in cooperation with engineering subunits and to push ahead with the versatile crew movement.
The People’s Army should stoke up the flames of intensive training with an emphasis put on the Party’s five-point policy on bringing about a revolution in training which encapsulates its Juche-oriented military strategic and tactical ideas and the requirements of the modern warfare, he said.
He met with the participating tankmen to give a pep talk to them. And he had a photograph taken with them.
 By PT staff reporter