The drill was held near the border town
of pochian about 20 kilometers south of
the demilitarized zone dmz which splits
the korean peninsula between north and
south. In terms of ammunition and personnel
mobilized this is the biggest live fire
exercise south korean troops have ever
staged independently or jointly with u.s
troops.
A defense ministry spokesman told AFP, it involved some 3,000 u.s and south
korean soldiers around 100 tanks and
armored vehicles, 120 heavy guns, 45
helicopters and more than 40 jet
fighters. It followed a recent surge in
cross-border military tensions that had
pushed both koreas to the brink of an
armed conflict before a negotiated deal
to de-escalate was reached on tuesday.
The drill opened with a simulated north
korean attack on a south korean guard
post. The defense ministry's original scenario
had role played an attack on south
korean loudspeakers blasting propaganda
messages across the border, but it was
revised after tuesday's agreement saw
the south switch the speakers off. The second stage of the exercise played
out a north korean raid across the
heavily fortified border.
The final element was a counter-attack
in simulated advance by south korean and
u.s mechanized units deep into north
korean territory to destroy missile
facilities, command posts and other key
facilities near pyongyang. The drill was played out in front of
2000 guests including president Park Geun-Hye and senior u.s and south korean
military officials. There are close to 30,000 u.s troops
permanently stationed in south korea.
The u.s and south korea have been
conducting joint military drills in
south korea amid rising tensions on the
korean Peninsula. The South Korean multiple launch rocket
system fires rockets during a joint live
firing drill at the seungjin fire
training field in pochian about 40 miles
northeast of seoul, the capital of south
korea. Ho Chien is located near the
demilitarized zone separating north and
south korea.
A usa-10 Thunderbolt 2 attack aircraft
fires flares during a joint live firing
drill between south korea and the u.s at
the Sangjin fire training field in
pochian south korea. South Korean K-182 tanks fire live
rounds during a joint live firing drill
between south korea and the us at the
sungjin fire training field in Pochian. South Korea and u.s soldiers watch from
an observation post during a joint
live-firing drill between south korea
and the u.s at the seungjin fire
training field in Pochian.
South Korean army soldiers repel down
during a u.s south korea joint live fire
military exercise at a training field in
pochian. south korean RF-16 jet fighters fire
flares during a joint live firing drill
between south korea and the u.s at the Sungjin fire training field in pochian. Explosions are seen at a target during a
u.s south korea joint live fire military
exercise in Pochian.
South Korean fighter jets take part in a
u.s south korea joint live fire military
exercise at a training field near the
demilitarized zone separating the two
koreas in Pochian. South Korean army's multiple launch
rocket system fires during a u.s south
korea joint live fire military exercise
in Pochian. South Korean army K-1A1 and u.s army M-182 tanks fire live rounds during a u.s
south korea joint live fire military
exercise in Pochian South Korea. A u.s army's A-64 Apache helicopter
flies over armored vehicles during a u.s
south korea joint live fire military
exercise in pochian south korea.
