SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean and U.S. troops have been conducting live-fire workouts this week to hone their skill to reply to potential “Hamas-style shock artillery assaults” by North Korea, South Korea’s army stated Friday.
The 2 forces recurrently conduct live-fire and different coaching, however this week’s drills come after Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on Israel raised safety jitters in South Korea, which shares the world’s most closely fortified border with rival North Korea.
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Consultants say the North’s forward-deployed long-range artillery weapons can hearth about 16,000 rounds per hour within the occasion of a battle, posing a severe menace to Seoul, which is about 40-50 kilometers (25-30 miles) from the border.
The three-day firing workouts, which started Wednesday, concerned 5,400 South Korean and U.S. troopers, 300 artillery methods, 1,000 automobiles and air power property, in line with South Korea’s army.
In a simulated response to “the enemy’s (doable) Hamas-style shock artillery assaults,” the workouts practiced strikes designed to “take away the origins of the enemy’s long-range artillery provocations at an early date,” South Korea’s Floor Operations Command stated in a press release.
North Korea didn’t instantly react to the drills. It usually views main U.S.-South Korean army coaching as invasion rehearsals and responds with missile assessments.
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South Korea and america have been increasing their common army drills within the face of North Korea’s advancing nuclear program. Since final 12 months, North Korea has carried out greater than 100 missile assessments, a few of them simulated nuclear assaults on South Korea and the U.S.