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| Fighter jets participate in a Soaring Eagle war simulation exercise at an air base in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Monday. South Korea and the United States also began a separate war drill, Ulchi Freedom Guardian, the same day. / Courtesy of the Air Force |
By Jun Ji-hye
South Korea and the United States began their annual joint exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG), Monday, prompting North Korea to threaten to launch a nuclear attack.
Pyongyang said it will launch a preemptive nuclear strike on Seoul and Washington "if they show the slightest sign of aggression."
According to the allies' Combined Forces Command (CFC), the computer-assisted drill will run until Sept. 2, with 75,000 troops mobilized, including 25,000 from the U.S.
The United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC) informed North Korea's Korean People's Army (KPA) through its Panmunjom mission of the exercise dates and the non-provocative nature of the training, the CFC noted.
"UFG is designed to enhance alliance readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean Peninsula," the CFC said in a release. "Approximately 25,000 U.S. service members will participate in the exercise, with about 2,500 coming from outside the peninsula."
For this year's exercise, nine member countries of the United Nations Command based in South Korea will join the computerized military exercise, the CFC said, noting that they are from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Italy, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission observers will also participate in the drill to monitor the exercise to ensure it is in compliance with the armistice agreement between the two Koreas, the CFC said.
"Training exercises like UFG are carried out in the spirit of the Oct. 1, 1953, ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty and in accordance with the armistice," the CFC said. "These exercises also highlight the longstanding military partnership, commitment and enduring friendship between the two nations, help to ensure peace and security on the peninsula, and reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the alliance."
The drill was started amid growing military tension on the peninsula following a series of missile launches conducted by Pyongyang in recent months. The North also carried out its fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch the following month.
The CFC refused to disclose details about scenarios for the exercise, but observers say the drill may be aimed at striking missile and nuclear facilities in the North in response to the repressive state's continuous provocations.
As the exercise began, Pyongyang threatened a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the allies.
The General Staff of the KPA warned that South Korea and the U.S. "should bear in mind that if they show the slightest sign of aggression on the DPRK's inviolable land, seas and air ..., it would turn the stronghold of provocation into a heap of ashes through a Korean-style preemptive nuclear strike."
North Korea customarily reacts with anger and military threats to such joint military exercises which they say are a rehearsal for invading North Korea.
Seoul officials are paying keen attention to the possibility that Pyongyang would carry out military provocations during or after the exercise, which closely followed the government's confirmation of a London-based senior North Korean diplomat's defection to the South. The Ministry of Unification said Wednesday that Thae Yong-ho, who was a deputy ambassador at the North Korean embassy in the United Kingdom, has recently entered South Korea with his wife and children.
Meanwhile, the ROK Air Force has been carrying out a war simulation exercise involving some 60 military aircraft including F-15Ks, KF-16s, FA-50 and C-130 transport planes as well as 530 troops.
"The Soaring Eagle exercise was begun on Aug. 19 and will run until Aug. 26," the Air Force said in a release, Monday.
During the drill, the Air Force is exercising to preemptively remove the North's ballistic missile threats by proactively blocking the missiles and their supply route, the Air Force said.
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