For the first time in six years since 2017, it has been held five times at the Pocheon Promotion Training Center until June 15th.
North Korea warns of provocation by mobilizing high-tech power such as Apache attack helicopters and self-destruct drones
Military, North Korea’s counter-response provocations and armed demonstrations are closely watched
In celebration of the 70th anniversary of the ROK-US alliance and the 75th anniversary of the founding of the armed forces, the largest ROK-US combined and joint firepower destruction training will be held from the 25th of this month to the 15th of June.
In the face of North Korea’s threat of provocation, the South Korean and U.S. forces are demonstrating the alliance’s overwhelming response ability by mobilizing high-tech conventional forces on a large scale. The combined elimination drill began in 1977 and was held a total of 11 times until 2017. The 2015 training was supervised by then-president Park Geun-hye, and the 2017 training was supervised by then-Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who was acting president.
This training, which resumes after six years, will be held at the promotion scientific training center in Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do. Major forces from South Korea and the U.S., such as the manned/unmanned complex system and the Korean 3-axis system, will be used in large numbers.
It is known that AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, F-35A stealth fighters, K-2 tanks, K-21 armored vehicles, multiple launch rocket launchers (MLRS) from the USFK and M-2 Bradley-type armored vehicles from the USFK will participate. The number of participating troops is also expected to increase significantly from 2017 (about 2,000).
A military official said, “Based on North Korea’s provocation scenario, we will also show practical countermeasures against asymmetric threats and wartime situations.” In case of emergency, it is known that the South Korean military’s swarm and self-destruct drone training will be scheduled as well as a firepower demonstration exercise in which the combined power of the ROK-US combined force and the joint force of the Army, Navy and Air Force will mobilize the latest weapons to demonstrate ‘retribution and destruction capabilities in case of enemy provocation’.
In addition, it is said that an event will be held to display the recently exported ‘K-Defense’ weapon system and new weapon equipment from the ROK and US Armed Forces.
The military plans to recruit a total of 1,500 national observers, 300 per session, through prior application to raise public awareness of national security. An official from the Ministry of National Defense said, “We will also invite key government and military figures, the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee, ROK and U.S. servicemen, the media, and domestic and foreign defense industry officials.”
In the face of the previous level of firepower demonstration by the South Korean and U.S. forces, there is a possibility that North Korea will also launch a counter-provocation or armed demonstration. A military source said, “During the training period, we plan to strengthen our surveillance posture against North Korea and focus on identifying signs of provocations in the frontier areas.”
Yoon Sang-ho, military reporter [email protected]
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.