By Kang Seung-woo
South Korea and the United States will begin Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) ― an annual joint military exercise ― today amid increasing tension on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea’s landmine attack in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
According to the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), the exercise will last until Aug. 28.
“More than 50,000 Korean and 3,000 American troops will participate,” said a defense ministry official.
The UFG will also include forces from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The Swiss and Swedish delegations of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission will monitor the exercise to ensure that it complies with the Armistice Agreement.
The United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission informed Pyongyang of the exercise dates and the non-provocative nature of the routine training, the CFC said.
The repressive state has denounced the UFG, together with the annual springtime exercises Key Resolve and the Foal Eagle, as a rehearsal for an invasion of the North.
“The UFG is planned months in advance and it is not connected to any current world events,” the CFC said.
This year’s exercises will use more reconnaissance and intelligence assets to strengthen monitoring of North Korea amid its threats to strike South Korean loudspeakers along the inter-Korean border.
Seoul resumed anti-Pyongyang broadcasts on Aug. 10 for the first time in 11 years in retaliation for the Aug. 4 landmine detonation that seriously injured two South Korean soldiers in the southern part of the military border.
The South has blamed the North for planting the mines in violation of the Armistice Agreement, but the latter has denied any involvement.
On Saturday, the North warned of “the strongest military counteraction” against the military exercise and the propaganda broadcasts.
“North Korea is an invincible power equipped with both the latest offensive and defensive means, including nuclear deterrence,” said a National Defense Commission spokesman.
In response to the North’s threat, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Choi Yun-hee convened an unscheduled video conference with operational commanders and ordered them to respond sternly to the North’s provocations.