North Korea has reacted angrily to South Korean and joint military activities. (file)
Seoul:
South Korean troops on Monday began their annual Hoguk defense exercise, designed to boost their ability to respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, amid rising tensions over the two sides’ military activities. The exercise, which ends on Saturday, is the latest in a series of military exercises by South Korea in recent weeks, including joint activities with the United States and Japan.
The latest field training comes as North Korea is testing weapons at unprecedented speeds this year, firing a short-range ballistic missile and hundreds of artillery rounds near the heavily armed inter-Korean border on Friday.
Pyongyang has reacted angrily to South Korean and joint military activities, provoking them and threatening retaliation. Seoul says its drills are regular and defense-oriented.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that along with some US forces, South Korean troops would focus on maintaining preparedness and improving the ability of troops to conduct joint operations during the Hoguk exercises.
It said in a statement, “The forces will conduct day-and-night maneuvers in the real world to counter North Korea’s nuclear, missile, and various other threats, so that they can master wartime and peacetime mission performance capabilities, and some U.S. forces.” together to increase the interoperability.” ,
Last week, tensions escalated after North Korea fired a missile, fired more than 500 artillery shells and several warplanes near a skirmish-prone maritime border.
Seoul condemned Pyongyang and imposed its first unilateral sanctions in nearly five years, calling the move a violation of a 2018 bilateral military agreement banning “hostile acts” in the border region.
But the North accused the forces of the South of increasing tension with the firing of their guns.
South Korean lawmakers have said the North has completed preparations to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017, and could hold it between China’s major ruling Communist Party congress, which began on Sunday, and 7 US midterm election on Nov. But some analysts don’t expect any tests before the Chinese Congress ends.
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