OThe drills, called ‘Ulchi freedom shield’, run until August 29 and include a command post exercise based on computer simulations, as well as live-fire maneuvers on the ground and civil defense exercises, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The maneuvers are similar in scale to last year’s drills, involving about 19,000 South Korean troops, although they include 48 field exercises in total, up from 38 in 2023.
The civil defense drills will also simulate a North Korean nuclear attack for the first time this year, a military source told Yonhap news agency.
The maneuvers come at a time of difficult cross-border relations, especially since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared the South as the “major national enemy” earlier this year.
Pyongyang, which has stepped up military cooperation with Moscow over the past year, has since May sent thousands of trash balloons to the South in response to balloons launched into the North by anti-regime propaganda activists.
As it does almost every year, Pyongyang has strongly condemned the exercises, considering them a rehearsal for an invasion of North Korean territory.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry’s Institute of American Studies called the drills “the most offensive and provocative war games” in an opinion piece published Sunday by the state-run KCNA news agency.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeok called, at a Cabinet meeting held today in Seoul to mark the start of the exercises, for improved preparedness to deal with the various threats posed by North Korea.
“We must strengthen our preparedness to respond to North Korean grey-zone attacks, such as spreading false information, fake news or cyberattacks,” Yoon said.
Last week, Yoon again proposed dialogue with Pyongyang, but stressed the need to improve the human rights situation in the neighboring country, which represents a change in relation to the position adopted by Seoul over 30 years, which prioritizes reconciliation, respecting the North’s political system.
Experts believe that the approach will not only generate rejection from Kim Jong-un’s regime, but could also increase hostile actions against the South.
Read Also: Seoul records 26 consecutive ‘tropical nights’ for the first time in 118 years
Download our free App.
Eighth consecutive year Consumer Choice for Online Press and elected product of the year 2024.
* Study by Netsonda, Nov. and Dec. 2023 productoftheyear- pt.com
Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2617327/seul-e-washington-iniciam-manobras-militares
