Seoul, May 24 (IANS): North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over a Central Military Commission meeting and discussed "new policies for further increasing the nuclear war deterrence of the country", state media reported Sunday.

Also discussed at the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party were important military steps and organizational and political measures to further bolster up the overall armed forces, according to Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"Set forth at the meeting were new policies for further increasing the nuclear war deterrence of the country and putting the strategic armed forces on a high alert operation in line with the general requirements for the building and development of the armed forces of the country," the KCNA was quoted as saying by the Yonhap News Agency.

It did not elaborate what the "new policies" for nuclear deterrence were.

"Taken at the meeting were crucial measures for considerably increasing the firepower strike ability of the artillery pieces of the Korean People's Army," it added.

Kim signed seven "orders" related military measures discussed during the meeting.

The KCNA did not say when the meeting was held, but state media usually report Kim's activity a day after it happens, said the Yonhap News Agency.

The meeting marked Kim's first public event since he visited a local fertilizer plant on May 1 after ending a 20-day absence from public view that sparked a slew of speculation over his health.

Kim last presided over a Central Military Commission meeting in December 2019.