North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the ruling party to make more “offensive” preparations for the possibility of war.

According to the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency(KCNA), Kim issued the order on Wednesday while chairing the seventh Enlarged Meeting of the Eighth Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea.

The regime leader emphasized the need for a strong army to be ready to suppress the enemy’s use of military force in advance and to completely eliminate all forms of attack by enemy forces in the event of war.

Kim also stressed the need to boost arms production and to actively conduct war drills to ensure the efficient operation of the country's latest weapons and equipment, adding that the North needs to strengthen its war potential by maintaining its combat posture at all times.

Observers believe Kim made the latest remarks to raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula ahead of a joint South Korea-U.S. military exercise slated for later this month and to use the combined drills as a pretext for further provocations.

The KCNA said that during Wednesday’s meeting, Kim also dismissed the military’s top general, chief of the General Staff Pak Su-il and named Ri Yong-gil, the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, as his replacement.

The report added that the North will hold a military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of its state founding on September 9.