North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected field training of troops at a major military operations base in the western region of the country on Wednesday and ordered heightened readiness for war, state KCNA news agency reported on Thursday.

The tour of the base, the location of which was not identified, comes after the start of annual combined military drills by U.S. and South Korean forces on Monday in the South with twice the number of troops taking part compared to last year.

Kim said the military must "dynamically usher in a new heyday of intensifying the war preparations in line with the requirements of the prevailing situation," KCNA reported.

"Our army should ... steadily intensify the actual war drills aimed at rapidly improving its combat capabilities for perfect war preparedness," KCNA quoted Kim as telling the troops.

KCNA did not mention whether Kim directly referred to the drills by the U.S. and South Korean military. He inspected troops conducting actual maneuvers under conditions simulating actual war, KCNA said.

Kim Jong-un inspects North Korea’s troops as he ramps up war drills

Kim Jong-un wields an assault rifle as he inspects a training base

Kim Jong-un brandished an assault rifle while inspecting a major operational training base on Wednesday, as North Korea’s leader urged his military to intensify “actual war drills”.

Wearing a black leather jacket, Mr Kim was shown talking to ranks of heavily armed soldiers in camouflage, overseeing firing drills and inspecting weaponry, images in the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) showed.

During his visit to the base, in the country’s western region, Mr Kim told the North Korean army to “steadily intensify the actual war drills aimed at rapidly improving its combat capabilities for perfect war preparedness”.

His visit comes as South Korea and the US conduct their annual spring military exercises, known as “Freedom Shield”, which involve field exercises, missile interception drills and live firing.

Pyongyang has called the drills “reckless”, warning the allies they will pay a “dear price”.

KCNA photos also show Mr Kim being applauded by soldiers, who “pledged their intense loyalty” to him “in the sacred struggle for the security of the country”.

North Korea has long condemned joint US-South Korea military drills, calling them rehearsals for an invasion.

The nuclear-armed North has in the past carried out weapons tests as a response to such joint exercises.