Seoul: South Korea and US troops have initiated a large-scale combined live-fire exercise near the inter-Korean border, aiming to enhance their joint operational capabilities. The exercise, hosted at a firing range in Pocheon, approximately 30 kilometers south of the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas, mobilizes around 2,000 troops and over 150 pieces of military hardware.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the three-week exercise commenced last Monday and features combined units of the allies conducting various drills. These involve South Korean K1A2 tanks, US Stryker combat vehicles, Apache attack helicopters, and A-10 attack aircraft. The drills are designed to strengthen the allies' combined operational capabilities while assisting the US military's rotational Stryker unit in adapting to conditions on the Korean Peninsula following its arrival in South Korea last October.
In a related development, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has accused the US of being involved in global disputes and reaffirmed North Korea's policy to further develop its nuclear forces. The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim made these remarks during a visit to the Ministry of National Defense, marking the 77th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army.
Kim also asserted that the deployment of US nuclear strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula, along with US-led nuclear war simulation exercises and US-Japan-South Korea military cooperation, is "inviting military imbalance" on the peninsula and in Northeast Asia. He claimed this situation is causing "a new conflicting structure" and presenting a significant challenge to North Korea.