North Korea has reportedly conducted a firing practice contest for tactical artillery units to bolster its combat readiness posture.

The North’s state Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) said Tuesday that tactical artillery subunits of the Korean People’s Army held a firing practice contest the previous day in accordance with the combat drill plan of the army’s General Staff Department.

The North’s move comes as South Korea and the United States are scheduled to hold the annual combined Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise from next Monday through August 28.
 
The KCNA said the aim of its contest was to perfect the army’s battle readiness and war-fighting capabilities. 

The report said the participants hit and destroyed targets within the allotted time and with unfailing marksmanship, adding that the contest fully verified the army’s strong combat capabilities.

The KCNA said the contest served as an occasion to demonstrate the army’s strong will to reliably defend security and thoroughly contain what it called “military gangsters in the land adjacent to the border.”