Kim Jong-il in Ominous Visit to Navy Command

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il inspected the Navy Command in Pyongyang accompanied by his son and heir Jong-un, the North's Central Broadcasting Station reported Monday. There is an ominous history to Kim's visits to Nay installations.

The North Korean media last reported a visit by Kim to the Navy Command on May 2, 2002. Eight weeks later, on June 29 that year, a skirmish occurred in the West Sea when a North Korean patrol boats crossed the Northern Limit Line and attacked South Korean patrol boats.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il waves to cheering sailors during a visit to the Navy Command in Pyongyang. /[North] Korean Central TV

This time, Kim was quoted as saying, "Officers and sailors of this command that has produced 103 heroes should carry on this proud tradition and perform feats by winning every battle in a future war to defend the fatherland."

On Nov. 27, 2009, right after the North Korean Navy's defeat in another skirmish near Daecheong Island on Nov. 10, Kim gave a similar address to the West Sea Fleet Command in Nampo. Four months later, on March 26 last year, the North torpedoed and sank the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan.