Kim Jong-un visits tank unit famous for Seoul invasion during war

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the barracks of the first tank unit to enter Seoul when the northern army took over the city during the 1950 war, in what appeared to be a new hostile message toward South Korea, state media reported Monday.

His visit to the Seoul Ryu Kyong-su 105th Armored Division took place Sunday, according to North Korean news agency KCNA.

Kim was “briefed on the division’s plan for offensive and defensive operations,” according to the text, and saw demonstrations of tank maneuvers on the ground, as shown in photos published by KCNA.

One of the images also shows Kim receiving information about operations next to a map detailing the south of the Korean Peninsula.

The text said that the division “was the first to charge into Seoul and fly the flag of the (North Korea) on the puppet capitol building.”

On Mar. 13, Kim Jong-un supervised some war games in which this same division participated and during which he himself operated a new model of North Korean tank.

According to KCNA, Kim said this division is a model for the entire military at a time marked by an “intensive training for finishing war preparations.”

It is the seventh time this month that the leader has monitored military activities, including missile tests.

In early March, Seoul and Washington carried out their large spring maneuvers, which Pyongyang criticizes as a rehearsal to invade its territory.

These maneuvers come at a time marked by growing hostility expressed by the regime, which recently declared South Korea its main enemy and removed the goal of reunification from its constitution.