The armies of South Korea and the United States planned to conduct large-scale live-fire exercises close to the North Korean border on Thursday. North Korea previously warned that it would not tolerate what it considered an aggressive practice for an invasion near its territory.
It will conduct five rounds of firing exercises until mid-June, starting with Thursday's drills, commemorating 70 years since the establishment of the military alliance between Seoul and Washington. North Korea has a history of responding to such significant joint exercises with missile and other weapons tests, as reported by AP News.
North Korea's Missile Tests
In 2022, North Korea has conducted over 100 missile tests but has not launched any missiles since mid-April, when it fired a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile.
North Korea claims that their frequent tests were in response to the increased military exercises conducted by the US and South Korea. Still, experts believe North Korea is using these tests to improve its weapons capabilities and gain more leverage in future diplomatic negotiations.
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US-South Korea Largest Firepower Drills
The United States and South Korea plan to conduct large-scale firing exercises, known as "combined annihilation firepower drills," which would be the largest of their kind. These drills have been conducted 11 times since they started in 1977, as confirmed by the South Korean Defense Ministry.
Officials from the Ministry stated that the upcoming military exercises would include modern technologies such as stealth fighter jets, attack helicopters, tanks, and multiple rocket launch systems from South Korea and the United States. The exact number of soldiers participating in the drills is currently unknown, but the previous exercises in 2017 involved around 2,000 troops and 250 weapons from both countries.
The Defense Ministry previously announced that the exercises aim to improve the ability of South Korea and the United States to work together effectively. They will focus on developing solid defenses and responses to counter potential nuclear or missile attacks from North Korea.
On Friday, the media in North Korea referred to the drills as a rehearsal for a war that explicitly targets their country. They expressed concern about the fact that the exercises were taking place so close to their border.
At the beginning of this year, South Korea and the United States participated in their most extensive military training in five years. Additionally, the United States dispatched the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, which is nuclear-powered, and bombers with nuclear capabilities to carry out joint drills alongside South Korea.
Moon Seong Mook, an analyst from the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, suggested that North Korea may use the joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States as an excuse to resume testing its weaponry to achieve its goal of modernizing its weapons. However, he also mentioned that North Korea's domestic priorities, such as increasing agricultural production during the rice-planting season, could still impact their decision on whether or not to conduct weapons tests.
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