SEOUL -- The top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday guided a training match between the tankmen large combined units of the Korean People's Army (KPA), state media said Thursday, as he has been seen in several military training events of the country's armed forces thus far this month.

The country's new-type main battle tank participated in the training match, which was designed to inspect the actual combat capabilities of the tank units and hone their combat skills, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, expressed his satisfaction over the striking power, maneuverability and combat performance that the new-type main battle tank demonstrated during Wednesday's event, which also witnessed him mounting a new tank and driving it himself, the KCNA said.

Stressing the vital role and duty of tank units in modern warfare, Kim underscored the need to organize intensive exercises simulating actual war and training matches to enhance combat capability, it added.

The top leader presided over a large-scale artillery firing drill earlier this month and visited a KPA major operational training base to inspect training facilities and guide actual maneuvers, according to the KCNA.