North Korea’s mechanized troops conducted an artillery competition on Saturday, according to state media, the first time this year that such a drill was publicized without the presence of leader Kim Jong Un.

Reportedly led by Pak Jong Chon, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau and secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), the exercise aimed to intensify readiness of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) and “increase their mobile artillery combat capabilities.”

KPA General Rim Kwang Il, chief of the General Staff of the KPA, and commanders of the combined units reportedly joined