North Korea’s Kim Jong Un oversaw paratroop drills aimed at showing his soldiers’ ability to occupy an “enemy region at a stroke”, state media said Saturday, days after the most recent annual US-South Korean military exercise.

Pyongyang has shown particular sensitivity towards the joint air force exercises conducted by Washington and Seoul, with experts noting that the North’s air force is considered to be the weakest link in its military.

Pyongyang’s latest training overseen by Kim was “aimed at inspecting the paratroopers’ readiness to be mobilised for any operational plan in surprise wartime circumstances” and judging their capabilities, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency reported.

The troops demonstrated “their perfect combat capability to occupy the enemy region at a stroke once an order is issued”, it added.