S. Korea, U.S. stage combined firepower drills near inter-Korean border

SEOUL, March 6 (Yonhap) — South Korea and the United States on Thursday held combined live-fire drills near the inter-Korean border, officials said, in a show of firepower against North Korean military threats ahead of their annual springtime exercise this month.

The exercise took place at the Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, just 25 kilometers south of the border, mobilizing more than 160 pieces of military hardware, including K2 tanks, K55A1 self-propelled howitzers, Apache attack helicopters and F-35A stealth jets, according to the Army.

It marked the allies’ first exercise of its kind this year, taking place in connection to the upcoming annual Freedom Shield exercise. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo and U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Bronson were set to visit and inspect the live-fire drills.

The drills began with South Korean and U.S. military drones conducting reconnaissance missions against simulated threats and directing artillery firing before mechanized infantry troops and tanks moved in to secure target areas, according to the Army.

During the training, South Korean fighter jets dropped more than 30 live munitions, including an MK-84 bomb capable of penetrating 60 centimeters of concrete to target bunkers or hardened structures.

North Korea has long denounced the allies’ military drills as a rehearsal for an invasion against it, while South Korea and the U.S. have said such drills are defensive in nature.