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| A K-9 self-propelled howitzer fires an artillery shell during a live-fire exercise in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Monday, as South Korean and U.S. troops conduct the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise. Yonhap |
Pyongyang denounces exercise as rehearsal for invasion
By Kang Seung-woo
South Korea and the United States began the second session of their biggest combined military exercises in five years, Monday, amid strong protests from North Korea.
The second part of the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), scheduled to run through Thursday, focuses on counterattack operations to secure the safety of Seoul and its surrounding area. Last week's first segment involved drills to repel North Korean attacks and defend the greater capital region.
"The UFS is an exercise of a defensive nature and counterattack operations of its second part are about securing safety in response to the enemy's attacks," a military officer said.
The UFS was previously known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian from 2008 to 2018 and as Combined Command Post Training from 2019 to 2021. The former leaders of the two countries ― Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump ― suspended or scaled back the drills in order to diplomatically engage Pyongyang.
After President Yoon Suk-yeol took office in May, Seoul and Washington agreed to normalize and even expand the drills.
As a result, South Korean and U.S. troops have been participating in 13 outdoor drills as well as a computer-simulated command post exercise (CPX).
The Kim Jong-un regime denounced the joint military drills as preparations for an invasion.
"The plan of the UFS' second part to advance into Pyongyang by way of Gaeseong appears to be a fait accompli that the warmongers seek to invade North Korea through the combined military exercise rather than it remaining defensive in nature," Uriminzokkiri, the North's propaganda site, said on Monday.
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| South Korean and U.S. soldiers participate in an anti-terrorism drill at a stadium in Busan, Monday, as part of the ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield drill. Yonhap |
"This is an unacceptable, severe political and military provocation as the warmongers try to invade and capture Pyongyang, the center of politics, economy and culture of the republic, and where the supreme leadership of our country is located."
DPRK Today, another propaganda outlet, said the joint exercises had turned out to be aggressive in nature as the U.S. and South Korea were seeking to advance as far as the southern edge of Pyongyang.
Arirang Meari, another North Korean mouthpiece, said, "The South Korean and U.S. rhetoric that the joint military exercise is annual and does not threaten the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula is nothing more than a fragile lie and deceit that easily falls apart even with such basic common sense, insight and logic."
Amid the scathing rebuke of the combined training, South Korean military authorities are keeping close watch for any possible military provocations from the Stalinist state.
"As North Korea is advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities and has completed preparations for what would be its seventh nuclear test, the grave security situation continues," Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup said, Monday, during a meeting of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee.
"Based on the solid South Korea-U.S. alliance, our military is maintaining a sturdy defense posture to respond proactively to such security threats," he added.
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