South Korea initiates large-scale naval drills in Yellow Sea

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
24 Oct 2022 13:27

The drills include 20 warships, with destroyers and frigates equipped with the Aegis combat information and control system, helicopters, F-15K and F-16 fighter jets, as well as the A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft of the US Air Force.

South Korea set up large-scale military drills in Yellow Sea

South Korean news agency Yonhap reported on Monday that the South Korean Naval forces initiated large-scale drills in the Yellow Sea, with the participation of the army, air force, coast guards, and US troops.

According to the report published by the news agency, the drills include 20 warships, with destroyers and frigates equipped with the Aegis combat information and control system, helicopters, F-15K and F-16 fighter jets, as well as the A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft of the US Air Force.

The drills are allegedly aimed to boost the military capabilities against foreign provocations with a specific focus on enhancing maritime counter-operation forces to the DPRK's alleged provocations near the inter-Korean maritime border.

The exercise will last from Monday to Thursday as part of larger ongoing annual Hoguk drills that run from October 18-28.

The South Korean military said on Monday it fired about 20 warning shots at a North Korean ship that crossed the NLL near the island of Baengnyeongdo at 03:42 am local time (18:42 GMT on Sunday).

The DPRK said that a South Korean warship crossed the western sea border by 2.5-5 kilometers (1.5-3 miles) at the same time.

The DPRK has fired multiple artillery barrages this month into a maritime "buffer zone" that was set up in 2018 as a way to reduce tensions between the two countries.

From military drills to cyber attack exercises, the US-South Korea alliance continues to stir provocations against the DPRK in an already tense region.

Earlier today, it was announced that South Korea's military will take part in the US-led multinational exercise Cyber Flag for the first time this week.

According to the National Defense Ministry, a total of 18 military personnel from different branches would take part in the exercise.

"Our military’s participation in the Cyber Flag exercises is an important opportunity to strengthen cyber threat readiness among allies and forge mutual partnerships," Gen. Kim Han-sung, the commander of the Cyber Operations Command in Seoul, said.