North Korean leader Kim Jong-un invited a group of elite fighter jet pilots to his office, according to Pyongyang’s media on Monday, amid his keen interest in beefing up the country’s air power.

In a meeting with the 17 pilots on award leave following recent combat flight drills, Kim praised them for having “always kept themselves on a high alert to glorify their life like a star in the spirit of suicide attack, the priceless mental asset,” reported the Korean Central News Agency.

It quoted Kim as adding, “They should continue to conduct flight drills in hard conditions so intensively that they can dash the strongholds of aggressors like the blizzards of Mount Baekdusan and inflict merciless strikes if they show any attempt of aggression.”

He also had a photo session with the pilots, the KCNA said, at the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea building. Kim serves as the first secretary of the party and also the supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army. It stopped short of specifying the time.

Last month, Kim visited the aviation and air defense force headquarters. He has often observed pilots’ flight exercises, reiterating the significance of the air force in national defense.

In another public activity, Kim toured an exhibition on equipment and tools used by the military’s engineer and construction units.

He underlined the need for the construction sector to steadily upgrade the utensils and tools so as to ensure construction at a higher speed and quality with less manpower and materials, said the KCNA. (Yonhap)