(VOVworld) – The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Kim Jong Un has urged the army to ensure its combat readiness ahead of US-the Republic of Korea military exercises scheduled for March that see an annual spike in tensions on the divided peninsula.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) inspects a military drill an undisclosed location in North Korea, in February 2015 ©- (KCNA via KNS/AFP/File)

In a "historic" speech to the ruling party's Central Military Commission (CMC), Kim said the army had to be "fully ready to react to any form of war to be ignited by the enemy," state media KCNA said Monday. Stressing the need for the Korean People's Army (KPA) to "focus all its efforts on rounding off combat readiness," Kim spoke of the need to simplify and reorganize the KPA "machinery".