In preparation for the ever-increasing threat of North Korea’s provocation, South Korea and the U.S. will mobilize the latest aircraft from the U.S. Air Force and conduct special operations training, including a beheading operation, by early this month.
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the 2nd, ROK-U.S. special warfare units will conduct an annual combined special operations exercise called ‘Teak Knif’, which started early last month, at Camp Humphreys and Osan Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, until next week.
‘Teak knife’ is a training for special forces to master special operations to infiltrate into enemy lines with air support, including decapitation operations to strike enemy command posts in case of emergency. South Korea and the U.S. have held annual drills since the 1990s, but they were often held behind closed doors because they could unnecessarily provoke North Korea.
The disclosure of the joint special warfare training by the military authorities is interpreted as an unusually high level of warning against North Korea.
A military official said, “This is to show the ROK-U.S. alliance efforts and overwhelming retaliatory posture in response to the increasing threat of North Korea’s provocation.”
In particular, during this exercise, the AC-130J, the most advanced special warfare aircraft of the US Air Force, was deployed to the Korean Peninsula for the first time, attracting attention. The AC-130J, called the Ghost Rider, is equipped with a 30mm cannon and an M102 105mm howitzer, and can fire precision-guided weapons such as GBU-39 guided bombs and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. It is famous for pouring ‘shell rain’ while hovering over a target at an altitude of more than 3km.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff explained, “This week, AC-130J live-fire training is being conducted.
During the training period, Chairman Kim Seung-gyeom of the Joint Chiefs of Staff visited the air base where the AC-130J was deployed, inspected the operational procedures, and strengthened his will to prepare for a decisive battle with the special forces soldiers.
Chairman Kim inspected the armaments and mission execution procedures to be used during actual operations and said, “Through practical combined special operations training, we will be equipped with the ability to strike the enemy’s core facilities without any error, and will improve interoperability between Korea and the United States to carry out combined operations in wartime. Please complete your posture.”
In addition, while examining the operational posture of the ROK and U.S. special forces soldiers, “to prepare for the ever-increasing threat of North Korea’s provocation, always have the ability and readiness to end the situation with victory by inflicting fatal damage to the enemy no matter what mission is assigned at any time.” Emphasized.
An official from the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, “The visit by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Seung-gyeom to the site of joint special operations training was a full-fledged joint exercise,’Freedom Shield’ (FS) practice, amidst North Korea’s successive provocations and threatening remarks about the ROK-US joint training and practice. This was done to check the overwhelming retaliation posture and the ROK-U.S. combined defense posture in preparation for the enemy provocation ahead of time,” he added.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.