South Korea-US joint military exercises

By Shim Hyun-chul

Four, three, two, one, boom!

K1 tanks in the forest fired when the countdown was over and AH-1S Cobra and AH-64 Apache helicopters emerged from the smoke rising after the shells landed. Empty cartridges and rockets rained down.

A South Korea-U.S. joint live-fire drill was held at Seungjin Training Field in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province on Sept. 30 to commemorate the 63th anniversary of Armed Forces Day, which fell on Oct. 1.

The drill was supervised by the Third Army Command and the Korean 1st Armored Brigade under V Corps and the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division participated in the exercises with some 2,500 spectators, including local residents and members of organizations related to national security in attendance.

Weapons including the Korean Army's K1 tank, K-9 and K-55 self-propelled guns and K-136 multiple rocket launchers as well as M1A2 tanks, M2A2 Bradley fighting vehicles and M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzers of the U.S. troops

After the drill, spectators were allowed to observe and ride on military vehicles and see equipment up close.