The armies of Washington and Seoul carried out this May 25 the first of five rounds of drills that will last until mid-June, near the border with North Korea. The allies have launched what they see as the biggest live-fire exercises ever, despite Pyongyang’s warnings against what he called an “invasion rehearsal” at its gates. Joint action is strengthened after months of successive North Korean nuclear tests.
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Fire from fighter jets and helicopters, drone flyovers, tank fire and multiple rocket launchers were observed near the border with North Korea on Thursday. The demonstration is part of airstrike and artillery drills by the military forces of Washington and Seoul, as they prepare for threats from Pyongyang.
Dubbed “combined annihilation firepower drills,” the most massive of their kind, they feature a total of five rounds that will run through mid-June.
During the exercises, shells pummeled a mountainside in Pocheon, near the fortified border with North Korean territory, as tanks maneuvered and fired their weapons at various targets, sending smoke, dust and shock waves throughout the valley. .
“The exercise demonstrated our Army’s ability and readiness to respond forcefully to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and a full-scale attack,” the South Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Around 2,500 soldiers from Seoul and the first power participated in the maneuvers, with which they promise to maintain “peace through overwhelming force.”
The exercises also simulated assaults on North Korea’s frontline military installations and precision-guided strikes on targets to “completely annihilate” North Korea’s military intimidations, Seoul added.
But what for the allies is a preparation of their forces in the event of a North Korean attack, for Pyongyang it is an invasion test at its doorstep, which is why it has launched new threats since these tests were announced.
“A war rehearsal targeting North Korea”
Previously, North Korea has responded with the launch of missiles to the military tests of its neighbor country and the United States. This time there would be no exception.
Last Friday, North Korea’s Central News Agency reported that the allies would face “corresponding responses” for the drills.
North Korean state media branded the operations as “a typical war rehearsal targeting North Korea,” stressing that Pyongyang “cannot help but take a more serious note of the fact” that the drills are taking place just a few kilometers from its home. border.
In recent months, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has ordered and supervised successive nuclear tests, in which some missiles have even landed in Japanese waters, raising alerts across the region.
Now, military tests close to its territory would give it a further boost and even serve as a “pretext” to resume its activities while it continues its push to create a complete nuclear arsenal, said Moon Seong Mook, an analyst with the National Strategy Research Institute. of Korea based in Seoul.
“North Korea can’t help but feel some burdens about the US-South Korea relationship and the joint live-fire drills being held for the first time in six years and in the strongest way,” Moon said. .
And it is that last week, Pyongyang state media also reported that Kim Jong-Un approved the final preparations for the launch of his country’s first military spy satellite. Kim has already indicated on several occasions that he sees it necessary to counter the “threats” of the United States and South Korea.
The North Korean leader does not give up or give in to military warnings and, on the contrary, aims to further strengthen his nuclear doctrine. Analysts explain that the satellite will improve the surveillance capacity of the North Korean territory, which will allow it to attack targets with greater precision in the event of war.
With Reuters and AP
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