South Korea and the US hold mock drills to invade North Korea

South Korean media said its forces practiced a war scenario involving the occupation and stabilization of North Korea in a joint exercise with the United States.

The exercise, called “Winds of Freedom,” includes “humanitarian assistance” to North Koreans and the reestablishment of administrative services.

The two allies, which regularly conduct military exercises, have upgraded their joint exercises to enhance the role of the South Korean military in the event of “an emergency situation occurring in the North,” according to the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper.

The newspaper quoted an unnamed senior government source as saying the drill, dubbed “Winds of Freedom,” included providing humanitarian assistance to North Koreans after the occupation and reestablishing administrative services.

US-South Korea military exercises are regularly condemned by North Korea (photo: AFP)

The exercise is part of the annual “Ulchi Freedom Guardian” exercise held from August 20 to August 31 involving tens of thousands of South Korean and US soldiers.

North Korea has always condemned these exercises, considering them a provocation that could lead to war.

“The exercise… will allow the South Korean military to lead all operations to stabilize the situation in the north for the first time, with the support of the US,” a military source told Dong-A.

The two countries will conduct similar drills as part of the joint Resolve exercise, scheduled to be held early next year, the newspaper reported.

A South Korean defense ministry spokesman declined to comment on the reports, saying details of the exercises were confidential.

In 2010, Walter Sharp, then commander of the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea, said the two allies needed to hold “real-life exercises” for “any contingency in North Korea,” including pacification operations.

North Korea responded angrily, accusing South Korea of ​​seeking to overthrow its regime.

The two Koreas are technically still at war as the 1953 war ended with a temporary truce, not an armistice./.

According to VietnamPlus-M