US President Joe Biden salutes as he leave the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Picture: Jonathan Ernst Reuters
Cape Town - In a bid to tighten its readiness over North Korean tensions, the US and South Korea kicked off joint military drills which involve warships, tanks, aircraft and potentially tens of thousands of troops.
According to Al Jazeera news agency, the annual summertime exercises in Korea, renamed to Ulchi Freedom Shield, began on Monday and are scheduled to end on September 1.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May, said the exercises are aimed at improving the nation’s readiness to match the changing patterns of war with the evolution of cyber threats, and promised to “normalise” the combined exercises to boost deterrence against North Korea.
“Maintaining peace on the Korean peninsula is built on our airtight security posture,” Yoon said during a cabinet meeting.
Reuters News reported that the drills were the largest since 2017, with Seoul’s defence ministry saying its allies will stage 11 field training programmes, which include one at brigade-level that could involve thousands of soldiers.
The ministry added that it is also working on improving its missile detection capabilities and is pushing for an early deployment of a new interceptor system to counter North Korea’s growing missile threats targeting the South’s capital.
IOL