North Korea conducts military drill with new battle tanks

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (center), along with his daughter Ju-ae (far left), oversees a drill at a military base in Pyongyang on March 18, 2026, in this photo released by the state-run [North] Korean Central News Agency the following day.

SEOUL, March 20 (AJP) - North Korea conducted an "offensive tactical drill of infantrymen and tankmen's sub-units," state media reported on Friday.

According to the state-run [North] Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), its leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the drill featuring "new-type main battle tanks" the previous day.

Kim was quoted as saying the tanks, which made their debut demonstrating their "remarkable combat efficiency," are "highly superior," hailing them as "unequalled in the world" in their striking power.

"Our army will be equipped with such most powerful tanks," Kim added.

Touting that "all the drills have been recently switched into the ones with scientific and practical forms and methods for an actual war," he stressed that military units at all levels should "achieve rapid successes in completing war preparations."
 

Battle tanks participate in a drill at a military base in Pyongyang on March 18, 2026, in this photo released by the state-run [North] Korean Central News Agency the following day.

Thursday's drill also involved "various types of attack drones" striking "the enemy's command base and anti-armor firing positions," according to KCNA.

The drill was "aimed at getting familiar with the coordinated order and combat methods in the tactical sub-units' offensive action to expand successes in their attack through an assault of tanks and infantrymen after striking, raiding and occupying the enemy's anti-armor defense line," according to KCNA.