Korean, US Marines stage regular joint winter drills

A Marine Corps reconnaissance unit takes part in wintertime drills at a training center in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, Thursday. Courtesy of Republic of Korea Marine Corps

The Marines of Korea and the United States have been staging combined wintertime drills aimed at enhancing their operational capabilities, the South's Marine Corps said Friday.

The drills kicked off Jan. 2 at a training center in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, involving some 360 personnel from a Korean Marine Corps reconnaissance unit and around 300 U.S. Marines.

It will run through Feb. 26 in parts of the Gangwon and North Gyeongsang provinces, as well as Ganghwa County.

The Marine Corps said the drills include winter specialty training and small-unit tactical exercises aimed at bolstering the reconnaissance unit's capabilities to detect and strike key enemy facilities in advance.

During infiltration training, the troops also deployed drones to improve the survivability of personnel by utilizing data gathered from the unmanned systems.