An ROK Army K1A2 tank fires smoke shells during a joint live-fire drill on the sidelines of the joint ROK-US Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) military exercises, at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon on Aug 31, 2022. (YONHAP / AFP)
POCHEON, Republic of Korea – Less than 20 miles from the fortified border with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, a combined force of Republic of Korea and US troops held a major live-fire exercise on Wednesday with artillery, tanks and other weapons.
ROK and the United States have resumed the largest field exercises in years after diplomatic efforts and COVID-19 restrictions led to many drills being scaled back.
The allies see the exercises as a key part of their efforts to deter the DPRK and its growing nuclear arsenal, but the DPRK has called them a rehearsal for war and they have faced criticism even in ROK and the United States
The allies see the exercises as a key part of their efforts to deter the DPRK and its growing nuclear arsenal, but the DPRK has called them a rehearsal for war and they have faced criticism even in ROK and the United States.
Reuters was among a handful of media granted rare access to the drills on Wednesday.
They were the first division-level exercises for the 2nd Infantry Division/ROK-US Combined Division, the US military’s only multinational division formed in 2015.
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The drills included live fire from American and ROK howitzers, tanks, machine guns, and mortars. A-10 attack aircraft and Apache helicopters also participated.
Rounds from howitzers pounded into a mountainside at the Rodriguez Life Fire Complex, as main battle tanks from both sides maneuvered and fired their guns at targets, sending shockwaves across the valley.
Colonel Brandon Anderson, the division’s deputy commander for manoeuvre, said the drills were not aimed at any one adversary, but they obviously took into account the “reason for the US-ROK alliance”.
The drills were designed to simulate battling a “near-peer” enemy who could match the allies in capabilities, he said.
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“We’re training for large-scale combat operations,” Anderson said, noting that the conflict in Ukraine had provided lessons on the need to improve long-range artillery and surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
US Army Paladin self-propelled howitzers fire during a joint live-fire drill on the sidelines of the joint ROK-US Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) military exercises, at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon on Aug 31, 2022. (YONHAP / AFP)
He denied that these drills were among those delayed for political reasons but said COVID and the logistical challenges of pulling off a multinational exercise with live ammunition meant the allies had been unable to conduct the practice until now.
Many large exercises were canceled starting in 2018 as then-US President Donald Trump tried to persuade DPRK top leader Kim Jong-un to give up his nuclear weapons. COVID later disrupted more drills.
A former senior defense official told Reuters that in many cases US and ROK forces continued to train but did not publicize it.
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That has changed, with both the United States and ROK increasingly touting their alliance in the face of increased missile tests by DPRK, and the prospect of it testing another nuclear weapon.