According to the ROK Ministry of Defense, the current exercises are timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the conclusion of an agreement between the United States and the ROK on a military-political alliance. They started on May 25 and will continue until June 15 inclusive, taking place at a firing range near the city of Bucheon, just 40 km south of the inter-Korean border. Their main feature is the widespread use of a large number of equipment and active shooting.
This is the 11th time the exercise has been held in South Korea since 1977. and have resumed after a six-year hiatus since 2017, when they were suspended in connection with the government’s rise to power in the South Democrat, called upon to develop cooperation with the North. Today, the conservatives, famous for their tough attitude towards Pyongyang, are in power.
According to experts, the current firing drills are the largest in the history of US-South Korean maneuvers, considering the scale of the equipment involved in the firing, the weapons and the amount of ammunition used. . This became evident from the first day of the exercises, when the firing was carried out on a special scale. According to the Southern Military Department, on Thursday, May 25, a total of about 600 weapon systems took part in the firing, including tanks, the latest fighters, attack aircraft, helicopters, drones, artillery , rocket launchers, etc. All this was controlled by 2,500 soldiers and officers of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United States, and about two thousand specially invited spectators watched the firing.
Judging by their approach, the allies decided to impress not only the public, but also North Korea, creating a “sea of ​​fire”. According to the scenario of the first part of the shooting, the allies repelled the invasion of North Korean troops, against which K-9 self-propelled guns and 239 mm Cheonmu rockets, which destroyed artillery supports and posts of enemy command, advanced. After that, dozens of drones were lifted into the air, which collected information about enemy troop movements, and then more strikes by American and South Korean troops followed. According to Defense Ministry plans, similar large-scale firings will take place four more times during the exercises – on June 2, 7, 12 and 15, and will also take place near the inter-Korean border.
South Korea reacted to such a show of force in different ways. Some admired the strength and power of the weapons of the allies, saying they were proud of their country, but there were those who considered it reckless to so clearly provoke North Korea, firing very close to the border and at one time where inter-Korean relations are quite tense. However, South Korea’s conservative government, led by President Yoon Seok-yeol, insists it will continue to conduct and increase the intensity and scale of exercises and other interactions with the US military, while by acting from a position of strength against Pyongyang. Experts believe that the DPRK will not leave such a challenge unanswered and will respond soon enough one way or another to such actions by Seoul and Washington.
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