South Korean and U.S. troops have been conducting live-fire exercises this week to hone their ability to respond to potential “Hamas-style surprise artillery attacks” by North Korea, South Korea’s military said Friday.
The two forces regularly conduct live-fire and other training, but this week’s drills come after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel raised security concerns in South Korea, which shares the most fortified border in the country. world with its rival North Korea.
Experts say long-range artillery guns deployed by the North can fire around 16,000 rounds per hour in the event of conflict, posing a serious threat to Seoul, which is about 40 to 40 miles from the border.
The three-day shooting exercises, which began Wednesday, involved 5,400 South Korean and U.S. troops, 300 artillery systems, 1,000 vehicles and air force assets, according to the South Korean military.
In a simulated response to “the enemy’s (possible) Hamas-style surprise artillery attacks,” the exercises practiced strikes designed to “eliminate the sources of enemy long-range artillery provocations at an early date,” the Command said. of South Korea’s Ground Operations in a statement.
South Korean army’s K-9 self-propelled howitzers and K-55A1 self-propelled howitzers fire during military exercises at a training range in Cheorwon, South Korea, Oct. 27, 2023. AP
South Korean army K1E1 tanks cross a floating bridge over the Namhan River during a joint river crossing drill between South Korea and the United States in Yeoju, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.AP
North Korea did not immediately react to the exercises.
It generally considers major military training between the United States and South Korea to be invasion rehearsals and responds with missile tests.
South Korea and the United States have been expanding their regular military exercises in the face of North Korea’s advancing nuclear program.
Since last year, North Korea has carried out more than 100 missile tests, some of them simulating nuclear attacks against South Korea and the US.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn