South Korea conducts military exercises near the North Korean border

The South Korean military said today it will hold drills nationwide, including in tense border areas with North Korea, to heighten vigilance against the risk of attack.

The army, navy, air force and marines will participate in the annual Hoguk exercise from October 27 to November 4, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Exercises in the Yellow Sea will also be part of the training.

"Defense training on the northwestern islands will be conducted to counter attack threats in the region, and to improve combat capabilities," a spokesman for the General Staff told reporters.

South Korean warship. Photo: brecorder

AFP quoted Yonhap as saying that in the border area on the Yellow Sea, there will be destroyers and escort ships along with combat helicopters and fighter jets equipped with air-to-sea missiles participating.

Nationwide, the exercise will involve up to 140,000 troops, including 500 US Marines, and will involve live-fire drills.

North Korea regularly criticizes such exercises, viewing them as rehearsals for an invasion.

The Yellow Sea was the scene of deadly naval clashes in 1999, 2002 and 2009. One of the South Korean islands near the maritime border was shelled by North Korea last year, killing four people. Tensions between the two Koreas have been high since March 2010, when a South Korean naval ship was torpedoed and sunk in what Seoul said was an attack by Pyongyang. North Korea denied the allegation. Since then, South Korea has conducted numerous land and sea exercises to prepare for possible attacks.

(According to VnExpress)