WASHINGTON, April 27 (Yonhap) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol warned Thursday that North Korea will be met with an “overwhelming” nuclear response in the event it tries to use nuclear weapons.
Yoon issued the warning during a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon, saying he agreed with U.S. President Joe Biden the previous day to strengthen the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to South Korea.
Extended deterrence refers to the U.S. commitment to mobilizing all of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) chats with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a visit to the Pentagon near Washington on April 27, 2023. (Yonhap)
“Should North Korea attempt to use nuclear weapons, it will be faced with a resolute and overwhelming response, including the U.S.’ nuclear capabilities, from the South Korea-U.S. alliance and the Republic of Korea Armed Forces,” Yoon said.
“I urge North Korea to realize that it can do nothing with nuclear weapons and decide to denuclearize for true peace and mutual prosperity on the Korean Peninsula,” he said.
Yoon also expressed confidence in the U.S., saying, “I fully trust the United States’ firm extended deterrence commitment.”
Yoon recalled North Korea’s recent test of a solid-fuel long-range ballistic missile and other provocations, saying the regime is likely to try to put pressure on South Korea and the U.S. and divide the alliance through various forms of provocations in the future.
“Our government will firmly respond to North Korea’s threats based on an unwavering South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture,” he said.
“We will further strengthen South Korea-U.S. combined exercises and drills, and expand security cooperation between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan,” he added.
Austin assured Yoon that the U.S.’ extended deterrence commitment covers the full range of U.S. capabilities, including conventional, nuclear and missile defense capabilities.
Yoon, who is on a state visit to the U.S., later visited the Pentagon’s National Military Command Center (NMCC), where he was briefed on U.S. strategic surveillance and crisis response systems, the presidential office said.
The NMCC is a key command and control center inside the Pentagon that directly assists the U.S. president and military commanders in emergencies, the presidential office said, noting Yoon was the first South Korean president to visit the center.
Yoon then paid a visit to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to discuss ways to create a research environment that fosters creativity and leads to technological innovations, and to explore ways to strengthen cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. on defense science and technology.
Yoon was the first foreign leader to visit DARPA, his office said.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (2nd from L) meets with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (3rd from R) during a visit to the Pentagon near Washington on April 27, 2023. (Yonhap)
WASHINGTON, April 27 (Yonhap) — President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed Wednesday to significantly strengthen Washington’s nuclear commitment to South Korea, promising “swift, overwhelming, and decisive” action in the event of North Korea’s nuclear attack.
Yoon announced the agreement during a joint press conference following summit talks with Biden at the White House, outlining a joint statement, dubbed the “Washington Declaration,” that they adopted to strengthen “extended deterrence” against the North’s nuclear and missile threats.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and U.S. President Joe Biden hold a joint news conference after their summit at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 26, 2023. (Yonhap)
Extended deterrence refers to the U.S. commitment to mobilizing all of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally.
“South Korea and the United States agreed to immediately hold talks between their leaders in the event of North Korea’s nuclear attack, and through them, promised to take swift, overwhelming and decisive action using all of the alliance’s military capabilities, including U.S. nuclear weapons,” Yoon said at the White House Rose Garden.
Yoon said the two countries agreed to establish a Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) in order to operate the new extended deterrence system in more detail.
The allies will share information on nuclear and strategic operations and planning and hold regular discussions on how to plan and execute joint operations combining South Korea’s cutting-edge conventional capabilities with the U.S. nuclear capabilities, he said.
A presidential official later told reporters in Washington the NCG will be led by deputy minister-level officials from the two countries. In South Korea, a deputy minister ranks third, after the minister and vice minister.
The group will meet every quarter, four times a year, and report the results of their meetings to their respective presidents.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and U.S. President Joe Biden shake hands during a summit at the White House in Washington on April 26, 2023. (Yonhap)
“We, the two leaders, agreed to dramatically strengthen the two countries’ extended deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats in order to achieve peace through an overwhelming superiority of strength, not a fake peace that relies on the other party’s good will,” Yoon said.
The two countries will further develop table-top simulation exercises to prepare against a nuclear crisis and regularly and continuously deploy U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula, Yoon said, while the declaration said a U.S. nuclear ballistic missile submarine will soon visit South Korea.
“Our people will effectively feel that they are sharing nuclear weapons with the United States,” Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo later told reporters.
The leaders also agreed to continue cooperation to further strengthen extended deterrence, with Biden reaffirming the “ironclad extended deterrence commitment” to South Korea, Yoon said.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and U.S. President Joe Biden attend an official welcoming ceremony ahead of their summit at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 26, 2023. (Yonhap)
Standing next to him, Biden issued a stern warning to the North.
“A nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States, its allies or partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of whatever regime were to take such an action,” he said.
The Washington Declaration follows months of work between the allies amid questions about the credibility of the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to South Korea and calls for the country’s own nuclear armament as North Korea advances its nuclear and missile capabilities.
As a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, South Korea is banned from developing its own nuclear weapons, while the U.S. maintains a longstanding policy of upholding the nonproliferation regime.
In the declaration, the two leaders made clear those positions will not change.
“The ROK has full confidence in U.S. extended deterrence commitments and recognizes the importance, necessity, and benefit of its enduring reliance on the U.S. nuclear deterrent,” it said, using the acronym for South Korea’s formal name, the Republic of Korea.
“President Yoon reaffirmed the ROK’s longstanding commitment to its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty as the cornerstone of the global nonproliferation regime as well as to the U.S.-ROK Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy,” it said.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) and U.S. President Joe Biden (L) inspect an honor guard during an official welcoming ceremony ahead of their summit at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 26, 2023. (Yonhap)
Yoon is on a six-day state visit to the U.S. as the two countries mark the 70th anniversary of the bilateral alliance that emerged from the 1950-53 Korean War.
A joint statement following the summit showed the two leaders covered a wide range of topics, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, their commitment to diplomacy with North Korea, their deep concern over climate change, and their commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.
In particular Yoon and Biden “condemned in the strongest possible terms” Russia’s actions against civilians and critical infrastructure in Ukraine, while emphasizing the importance of trilateral cooperation between the U.S., South Korea and Japan.
Biden welcomed Yoon’s “bold steps” toward improving the South Korea-Japan relationship, according to the statement.
The two leaders agreed to continue close consultations on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the CHIPS and Science Act to ensure they encourage mutually beneficial corporate investment in the U.S. amid concerns of South Korean businesses.
They also agreed to establish a bilateral Strategic Cybersecurity Cooperation Framework to expand cooperation on deterring cyber adversaries, increase the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure, combat cybercrime, and secure cryptocurrency and blockchain applications.
To further improve the two countries economic security, the leaders pledged to broaden cooperation on critical and emerging technologies, including through the establishment of a Next Generation Critical and Emerging Technologies Dialogue led by the two countries’ National Security Councils.
Could the new nuclear might of South Korea and the U.S. trigger an arms race?
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (2nd from R) and first lady Kim Keon Hee (L) are greeted by U.S. President Joe Biden (R) and first lady Jill Biden during a welcoming ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 26, 2023. (Yonhap)
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WASHINGTON, April 25 (Yonhap) — President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday awarded South Korea’s highest military order to three American veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Retired Army Col. Ralph Puckett, retired Navy Capt. Elmer Royce Williams and the late Baldomero Lopez, a first lieutenant who served in the Marine Corps, were awarded the Taegeuk Order of Military Merit during a luncheon celebrating the 70th anniversary of the bilateral alliance.
A nephew received the order on behalf of the late Lopez.
President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) confers the Taegeuk Order of Military Merit on retired Navy Capt. Elmer Royce Williams during a luncheon celebrating the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-U.S. alliance at a hotel in Washington on April 25, 2023. (Yonhap)
“If it had not been for the sacrifice of Korean War veterans, the Republic of Korea of today would not exist,” Yoon said after conferring the awards, referring to South Korea’s formal name. The president is currently on a state visit to the U.S.
“The Korean War is not the forgotten war, but a victorious war and a war that must be remembered. All of you are heroes and our true friends, who made the Republic of Korea of today possible,” he said.
Puckett led the Eighth Army Ranger Company through the battle for Hill 205 on November 25, 1950, while Williams is known for his solo dogfight with seven Soviet pilots in November 1952. Lopez heroically smothered a hand grenade with his own body during the Incheon Landing on Sept. 15, 1950, and saved his subordinates’ lives.
“The South Korea-U.S. alliance forged in blood has built the most successful and powerful alliance relationship in the world over the past 70 years,” Yoon said. “We will forever remember the dedication and friendship of all of you who fought together for the Republic of Korea’s freedom.”
Yoon promised the South Korean government’s continued efforts to recover the remains of U.S. service members killed or gone missing during the Korean War, and vowed to fulfill the country’s responsibility and role for freedom and peace in the world.
The luncheon was attended by more than 360 people, including U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Brown, Jr., South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command chief Gen. Paul LaCamera, a grandson of Gen. James Alward Van Fleet, commander of the U.S. 8th Army from 1951-53, and the eldest daughter of Gen. Paik Sun-yup, the late former commander of the Korean Army’s 1st Division and a Korean War hero.
WASHINGTON, April 25 (Yonhap) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden paid a visit to the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington on Tuesday as part of events to mark the 70th anniversary of the bilateral alliance.
Yoon and Biden each laid a wreath and silently bowed their heads as they paid tribute to the Korean and American service members killed in the 1950-53 conflict. First ladies Kim Keon Hee and Jill Biden stood closely behind them.
The two pairs later stopped in front of the Wall of Remembrance, which was added to the memorial last year. The wall displays the names of more than 43,000 Korean and American troops killed during the war.
It was the first time Yoon and Biden met after the South Korean president arrived in Washington the previous day for a six-day state visit. On Wednesday, they are scheduled to hold a summit and attend a state dinner at the White House.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (2nd from L), U.S. President Joe Biden (2nd from R), South Korean first lady Kim Keon Hee (L) and U.S. first lady Jill Biden walk alongside each other at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington on April 25, 2023. (Yonhap)
Before heading to the memorial, Biden and first lady Jill gave Yoon and Kim a tour of the White House, according to presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon.
In the Blue Room, Yoon and Kim signed a guestbook and a photo book commemorating the 70th anniversary of the bilateral alliance. Together with the Bidens, they also stood on a balcony to take in the view of Washington and its surroundings.
Lee said the two pairs talked about various topics in a friendly atmosphere, ranging from their mutual interests to the two countries’ people-to-people and cultural exchanges and administrative philosophies.
Biden welcomed Yoon, saying he was pleased to invite a state guest to a special place and to get to know each other better in a happy and comfortable atmosphere, according to Lee.
In return, Yoon thanked Biden for the welcome and said he feels a special closeness to the Bidens after learning they have many things in common, including the fact that both couples live with pet dogs and cats.
Yoon also expressed his wish to invite the Bidens to the presidential residence in Seoul when they visit South Korea at a later date, according to Lee.
The Bidens gave Yoon and Kim a small table, a vase and a sapphire necklace as gifts. For Yoon, a known baseball fan, Biden also prepared a vintage collection consisting of a baseball bat, glove and ball formerly used by a professional baseball player.
Biden recalled that during his time as a senator, he hit a baseball thrown by a Republican senator so far that his grandchildren later told him they thought of him as a great grandfather even though they had no idea what he did as a politician, Lee said.
Yoon and Kim’s gifts for the Bidens consisted of a traditional Korean jar, a traditional headpiece and a silver kettle.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (3rd from L), U.S. President Joe Biden (2nd from R), South Korean first lady Kim Keon Hee (4th from L) and U.S. first lady Jill Biden (R) meet with a family member of a service member killed in the Korean War in front of the Wall of Remembrance at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington on April 25, 2023. (Yonhap)
KDVA Presents Letter of Appreciation to ROK President
The Korea Defense Veterans Association (KDVA) was honored to present a letter of appreciation to ROK President Yoon Suk Yeol at the “70th Anniversary of the ROK-U.S. Alliance Appreciation Lunch” hosted by the ROK Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. The lunch was part of the official ROK State Visit to the United States.
General (Ret.) Curtis Scaparrotti, KDVA Chairman and President, provided remarks highlighting the great ROK-U.S. Alliance; pointed out the might of Korea Veterans who helped build the Alliance; thanked President Yoon for his leadership, especially in defending against the North Korean threat; and publicly pledged, along with KDVA’s partner, the Korea-US Alliance Foundation (KUSAF), to support the Alliance.
General Scaparrotti said that “the Alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States is irreplaceable and entrenched in the hearts and minds of Americans and Koreans. The Alliance is irreplaceable because each person in this room has invested in making the ties between our people unbreakable. I am very thankful to lead the Korea Defense Veterans Association which stands with and supports 1.8 million U.S. Korean War Veterans, 3.3 million U.S. Korea Defense Veterans, and millions of ROK Veterans and their families.”
He further thanked KUSAF for their strong support and General (Ret.) Jung Seung Jo’s leadership as KUSAF President.
President Yoon thanked KDVA, KUSAF, and the millions of Korean War Veterans, Korea Defense Veterans, and their families for defending Korea and making the ROK-U.S. Alliance so strong.
SEOUL, April 20 (Yonhap) — A video honoring notable U.S. and South Korean veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War started airing in New York’s Times Square on Thursday, the veterans ministry said, as the two countries celebrate the 70th anniversary of their alliance.
The 30-second video will be shown periodically on two electronic billboards at Times Square through May 3, as President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to travel to Washington next week for a state visit.
American war heroes featured in the video include Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who served as the commander of the U.N. forces that fought with the South; Air Force Col. Dean Elmer Hess, who helped airlift around 1,000 war orphans in Seoul to safety; Army Col. Ralph Puckett Jr.; and Korean American Army Col. Kim Young-oak.
It also honors two U.S. father-son pairs — Gen. James Alward Van Fleet, commander of the 8th Army from 1951-53, and his son Air Force Capt. James Alward Van Fleet Jr., who went missing after a bombing mission, as well as military chaplain William Earn Shaw and his son Navy Lt. William Hamilton Shaw, who died during a mission in Seoul.
The South Korean war heroes featured are Gen. Paik Sun-yup, commander of the 1st Division, and Air Force Gen. Kim Doo-man, the armed service’s first pilot to achieve 100 sorties, as well as Army Col. Kim Dong-seok and Marine Corps Col. Park Jung-mo, who both took part in operations to retake Seoul.
The war heroes were chosen jointly by the ministry and the ROK/US Combined Forces Command. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, the South’s official name.
This image, provided by the veterans ministry on April 20, 2023, shows Korean War heroes to be featured in a video to be aired in New York’s Times Square through May 3. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
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SEOUL, April 24 (Yonhap) — President Yoon Suk Yeol departed for Washington on Monday for a six-day state visit expected to strengthen the allies’ response to North Korea’s nuclear threat and other challenges in a symbolic year marking the 70th anniversary of the alliance.
Under the theme “alliance in action, toward the future,” the visit comes at a time of growing concern over North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile capabilities and questions about the credibility of Washington’s “extended deterrence” commitment to Seoul.
A joint statement on measures to enhance extended deterrence — or the U.S. commitment to mobilizing the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally — is expected to be a highlight of Yoon’s summit with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday.
The summit will be preceded by an official arrival ceremony and followed by a state dinner hosted by Biden and first lady Jill Biden. Yoon will be joined by first lady Kim Keon Hee.
“The two leaders will spend a lot of time together over the course of many events … celebrate the achievements of the South Korea-U.S. alliance accumulated over 70 years, and exchange in-depth views on the alliance’s way forward,” Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo told reporters last week.
“We expect the contents and breadth of our global comprehensive strategic alliance to be further expanded at the upcoming talks, based on the trust and friendship the leaders have built until now,” he said.
President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) and U.S. President Joe Biden hold a summit at the presidential office in Seoul, in this file photo taken May 21, 2022. (Yonhap)
The summit will mark the sixth meeting between Yoon and Biden, following those in Seoul last May and then in Madrid, London, New York and Phnom Penh.
The visit also comes as the allies are seeking to bolster cooperation on economic security in areas such as semiconductors and batteries, with South Korean businesses eager to win concessions in the implementation of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and Chips and Science Act.
Yoon is being accompanied by a 122-person business delegation made up of chiefs of conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, and the heads of six major business associations, including the Federation of Korean Industries and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, among others.
Yoon is the first South Korean president since Lee Myung-bak in 2011 to pay a state visit to the United States and the second foreign leader after French President Emmanuel Macron to pay such a visit under the Biden administration.
On Tuesday, Yoon will attend a ceremony where U.S. advanced technology firms will announce plans to invest in South Korea, and a business roundtable involving some 30 CEOs of major companies from both countries, including Samsung, SK, Hyundai, Qualcomm, Lam Research and Boeing.
The president will also visit the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center just outside Washington the same day to discuss space cooperation between the two countries and meet with Korean scientists working for NASA.
President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and U.S. President Joe Biden pose for a photo during their summit at a hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in this file photo taken Nov. 13, 2022. (Yonhap)
The 70th anniversary of the alliance will be a theme that runs through the visit, with Yoon and first lady Kim set to join Biden and first lady Jill on a visit to the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington on Tuesday.
A video honoring notable U.S. and South Korean veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War began airing in New York’s Times Square last Thursday and will be shown periodically through May 3.
On Thursday, Yoon will deliver an address before a joint session of Congress and look back on the past 70 years of an alliance rooted in the shared values of liberal democracy, the rule of law and human rights, address the challenges the two countries face and present a blueprint for the alliance’s way forward.
He will then have lunch with Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken before moving to an undisclosed location to receive a briefing from U.S. military leaders.
Also on Thursday, he will attend a global video content leadership forum to present a vision for cultural solidarity and cooperation between the two countries, and meet with officials from American mass media companies, such as Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal Media, Sony Pictures, The Walt Disney Company and Netflix.
Later that day, Yoon will travel to Boston and hold discussions on Friday with digital and bio scholars at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He will also deliver an address at Harvard University the same day.
“President Yoon will look back on the U.S.-led expansion of economic and political freedoms over the past 200 years and share his thoughts on the two sides of freedom in the digital era we live in,” Kim Tae-hyo said.
Yoon will wrap up his trip and depart for Seoul on Saturday.
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WASHINGTON, April 18 (Yonhap) — The United States is successfully and continuously preventing conflict with no imminent signs of war in the Indo-Pacific but North Korea’s continued missile provocations, along with other threats, pose serious challenges to peace and stability in the region, the chief of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) said Tuesday.
Adm. John Aquilino also stressed the importance of strengthening U.S. alliances to deter any future aggression from North Korea and China in a House armed services committee hearing on U.S. military posture and national security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.
Adm. John Aquilino, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, is seen delivering opening remarks in a House armed services committee hearing in Washington on April 18, 2023 in this captured image. (Yonhap)
“Every day INDOPACOM works tirelessly to prevent conflict, not provoke it,” Aquilino told the hearing. “War is not inevitable, and it’s not imminent.”
The region, however, faces a “period of increased risk,” he insisted, partly due to Russia’s “illegitimate, illegal invasion” of Ukraine, the “military buildup and malign behavior” of China and the “continuous missile provocations and nuclear rhetoric by the DPRK.”
DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.
North Korea has launched nearly 100 ballistic missiles since the start of last year, while threatening to preemptively use nuclear weapons against the U.S. and South Korea in case of any contingency.
The INDOPACOM commander called for efforts to maintain a robust U.S. military posture while strengthening existing U.S. alliances and partnerships in the region to deter any aggression there.
“I say it again: Conflict in the Indo-Pacific is not inevitable, but we cannot rest on our past accomplishments to secure a peaceful future,” said the admiral.
Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), highlighted the need to strengthen the U.S.-South Korea alliance.
Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, is seen speaking during a House armed services committee hearing in Washington on April 18, 2023 in this captured image. (Yonhap)
“We must never take the alliance for granted as our center of gravity in deterring the Kim regime,” he said in his opening remarks before the hearing, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
“The Korean War taught us that we must always be ready and forward postured with our allies to ensure continued peace and stability on the peninsula,” he added.
LaCamera reassured that the joint forces of South Korea and the U.S. are “ready” should Pyongyang decide to resume hostilities against the South.
SEOUL, April 3 (Yonhap) — South Korea, the United States and Japan kicked off a trilateral naval exercise, involving an American aircraft carrier, in waters south of the Korean Peninsula on Monday, Seoul’s defense ministry said, amid joint efforts to reinforce deterrence against growing North Korean threats.
The two-day anti-submarine and search-and-rescue exercise, featuring the USS Nimitz carrier, got under way in the international waters south of the southern island of Jeju.
The joint maneuvers followed Pyongyang’s provocative acts, such as its unveiling of the Hwasan-31 tactical nuclear warhead last week and the test of the underwater nuclear attack drone Haeil days earlier.
“(The anti-submarine exercise) was arranged to enhance response capabilities of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan against North Korea’s advancing underwater threats, including from a submarine-launched ballistic missile,” the ministry said in a press release.
The South deployed to the exercise its key destroyers, the Yulgok YiYi, Choe Yeong and Daejoyeong, as well as the Soyang combat support ship, while the U.S. sent the carrier and two destroyers, USS Wayne E. Meyer and USS Decatur. Japan mobilized the JS Umigiri destroyer.
The anti-submarine drills will focus on enhancing the countries’ capabilities to “detect, track, share information on and defeat” the North’s underwater threats, according to the ministry.
During the search and rescue segment, they plan to practice first-aid and other emergency procedures for those in a simulated maritime accident.
The three countries last held trilateral anti-submarine drills last September. This week’s search-and-rescue drills among the three nations took place for the first time in seven years, according to the ministry.
USS Nimitz, a centerpiece of the U.S.’ naval power, trained bilaterally with the South Korean Navy last Monday and made a port call in Busan, 325 kilometers southeast of Seoul, the following day.
This week’s training highlighted tightening security cooperation among the U.S. and its two Asian allies, which have seen their ties thaw in the wake of Seoul’s solution to the thorny issue of compensation for victims of wartime forced labor.
This photo, taken on March 28, 2023, shows the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier docking at a naval base in Busan, 325 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
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SEOUL, March 23 (Yonhap) — South Korean, U.S. and British Marines have staged combined “high-intensity” airborne and maritime infiltration drills in a southeastern coastal area, the Marine Corps here said Thursday, in a move to bolster joint operational capabilities.
The drills took place in Pohang, 272 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Wednesday and Thursday, as part of the ongoing South Korea-U.S. Ssangyong amphibious landing exercise that began Monday.
The exercise mobilized reconnaissance units from the South’s 1st Marine Division and the U.S. Marine Corps, as well as troops from Britain’s Royal Marines Commandos. It marked British troops’ first participation in the exercise.
British and South Korean Marines take part in amphibious landing training during combined Marine drills with U.S. troops in Pohang, 272 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on March 22, 2023. (Yonhap)
During the drills, the combined troops infiltrated a target area for amphibious landing operations by sea and air, scouted the area and directed precision fire strikes at enemy targets, the Marine Corps said.
On the second day of the exercise, the troops were set to conduct shooting drills while on the move, and strengthen their capabilities to carry out combined missions designed in part to adapt to and maneuver in Korean terrain, it added.
“This exercise served as an opportunity for South Korean, U.S. and British Marine reconnaissance troops to share each of their skills and strengthen their mission capabilities through realistic training,” Lt. Col. Kim Cheol-myoung, commander of the South Korean unit, was quoted as saying.
The Ssangyong exercise is taking place in and around Pohang through April 3, in line with the allies’ push to reinforce readiness against North Korea’s military threats. “Ssangyong” means double dragon in Korean.
The drills had not been held since its last edition in 2018 amid the preceding Moon Jae-in administration’s drive for inter-Korean rapprochement.
South Korean and U.S. Marines take part in a reconnaissance exercise as part of the ongoing Ssangyong drills in Pohang, 272 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on March 22, 2023. (Yonhap)
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