Seoul, UK and US marines conduct “infiltration” exercise amid escalation with North Korea
Marine units from South Korea, the U.S. and the U.K. are conducting an “infiltration” exercise in the midst of escalation with North Korea. air and amphibious infiltration exercise. of “high intensity” at the height of tensions with North Korea, the South Korean Marine Corps said in a statement Thursday.
The Ssangyong or ‘Double Dragon’ exercise is taking place, as it does every year, around the city of Pohang (South Korea’s southeastern coast) and this year they have also included, for the first time, the British Royal Marine Corps To “strengthen joint operational capabilities”.
The Ssangyong maneuvers, which were not taking place after being suspended in 2018 to facilitate the, now non-existent, dialogue with North Korea, kicked off Monday and will last until April 3.
During the drills, air and amphibious landing operations have been conducted to execute infiltrations into target areas which have included. precision fire practice Or moving target practice, according to the South Korean Marine Corps.
In turn, the South Korean Army reported today that it has completed a live-fire exercise of four-day long Alongside U.S. troops at Pocheon, near the inter-Korean border.
All of these joint maneuvers fall under the Warrior shield set of field exercises (FTX), which coincide with the holding of command post exercises (CPX). Freedom shieldwhich the allies have been conducting since March 13 and which conclude this Thursday.
North Korea vowed to give a forceful response to these major maneuvers, the biggest in five years, and has conducted at least five missile launches in the past two weeks, the latest on Wednesday, when it fired several cruise missiles from its northeastern coast.
The drills come on the heels of a 2022 in which North Korea, which. has turned down offers to return to dialogueThe US has conducted a record number of weapons tests and in which Seoul and Washington once again conducted major maneuvers and deployed nuclear-powered aircraft carriers or US strategic bombers on the peninsula.
