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| ▲ This file photo, taken Aug. 4, 2022, shows a K9 self-propelled howitzer firing a shell during a live-fire exercise at a firing range in Paju, 37 kilometers northwest of Seoul. (Yonhap) |
S Korea-US-drills
S. Korea, U.S. hold large-scale military drills against N. Korean artillery threats
SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States have held a large-scale combined military exercise to hone response capabilities against North Korean long-range artillery threats, officials said Friday.
The three-day drills, involving more than 5,400 South Korean and U.S. troops and some 300 artillery pieces, began Wednesday across the country amid renewed attention on Seoul's readiness against possible North Korean artillery shelling in the wake of Hamas' recent surprise attack on Israel.
The North is known to operate some 340 long-range artillery pieces along the inter-Korean border, directly targeting the greater Seoul area -- home to about half of South Korea's 51 million people.
The latest exercise, overseen by the Army Ground Operations Command, focused on training troops to strike enemy artillery and their origin of provocation, and to prepare against possible surprise artillery firings akin to Hamas' recent attack, the unit said.
On Friday, K9 and K55A1 self-propelled howitzers were deployed for live-fire drills at firing ranges in the border counties of Cheorwon, 85 kilometers northeast of Seoul, and Yeoncheon, the command said.
The allies also mobilized unmanned aerial vehicles, counter-battery radar, Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, Army Tactical Missile Systems, South Korean F-15K fighter jets and U.S. A-10 attack aircraft among other assets for the three-day exercise.
The exercise took place as part of the South Korean military's ongoing annual Hoguk drills that kicked off on Oct. 13 and is set to run through Nov. 22.
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