South Korean troops practiced a war scenario involving the occupation
and stabilization of North Korea during a joint military drill with the United
States last month, a report said on Tuesday.
The two allies, who staged a similar stabilization exercise in 2010,
upgraded it to strengthen the role of the South Korean army in the event of an
"emergency situation in the North", Dong-A Ilbo newspaper said.
It cited an unnamed senior government official, who said the maneuver
- called Wind of Freedom - involved humanitarian assistance for North Koreans
after occupying the communist state and restoring administrative services.
The exercise was part of the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian drill held
from 20-31 August and involving tens of thousands of South Korean and US
troops.
The North has habitually condemned the drill as a provocative prelude
to war.
The North responded angrily to the reported stabilization drill the same year, calling it "absolutely appalling" and accusing the South of trying to topple its regime. news24.com
The two nations will stage a similar drill during an annual Key
Resolve joint drill to be held early next year. channelnewsasia.com Tensions have been high for more than a year, since the South accused
the North of torpedoing the Cheonan warship near the disputed Yellow Sea border
in March 2010, with the loss of 46 lives. AFP In 2010, Walter Sharp, the then commander of the 28,500 US troops
stationed in the South, said the two allies needed to hold "realistic exercises"
for "anything that could happen in Korea" including stability operations.
news24.com South Korea will spend $2.3 billion dollars ($2.83 billion) over the
next five years to secure tactical weapons targeting North Korea's nuclear
weapons facilities and missile bases, a state agency said Tuesday.
asiaone.com The two Koreas have remained technically at war since the Korean War
ended in 1953 with a truce rather than a peace treaty. AFP
AN/DB
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