By Jung Sung-ki
The South Korean armed forces will begin maritime war drills in the West Sea today to strengthen their defense posture against North Korean provocations, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced Wednesday.
The Navy-led exercise involving ground troops, Marines, airmen and coast guard personnel will continue through Monday, it said.
The drill follows a major joint naval exercise by the South Korean and U.S. militaries late last month in the East Sea, which was intended to send a message to the North, blamed for the sinking of a South Korean warship in March in the West Sea.
In a statement, the JCS said the exercise is purely “defensive” and meant to cope with asymmetrical attacks by North Korea’s military.
The JSC further explained that the focus of the exercise will be monitoring, detecting and thwarting a possible North Korean maritime infiltration through the Northern Limit Line (NLL) into the South.
The exercise will involve about 4,500 troops, 29 naval vessels, including three submarines, and 50 aircraft, according to the statement.
Planned drills include live naval gun-fire off the islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong near the NLL, K-9 howitzer firings from the coastlines of the islands, and torpedo firings, JCS officials said.
On Tuesday, North Korea’s military threatened “physical retaliation” against South Korean ships should the planned drill take place in the West Sea.
The South Korean military immediately rebutted the threat, calling on the North to admit its involvement in the ship sinking and apologize.
Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said his military will brace for any North Korean provocations during the West Sea drill.
“We’re always prepared for possible North Korean provocations, and we will be this time, too,” Kim said in a luncheon with the press corps of the Ministry of National Defense.