Seoul, Aug 31 (Representative) South Korea and the US staged a large-scale combined live-fire exercise near the inter-Korean border Wednesday in a vivid display of the allies’ military might amid North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. A centerpiece of the Combined Joint Fires Coordination Exercise (CJFCX) took place at the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, about 30 km south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), involving high-morale troops, battle tanks, mortars, howitzers and warplanes to boot.
Yonhap News Agency and three other news outlets were given access to observe the four-day exercise set to run through Thursday as the allies are pushing to beef up combined drills amid concerns about possible North Korean provocations like a nuclear test. The exercise coincided with the ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) — a scaled-up edition of the allies’ key regular training that has hammered home a message: Persistent North Korean threats will result in the allies’ sturdier deterrence and cohesion. It marked the first division-level live-fire exercise led by the 2nd Infantry Division/ROK-US Combined Division — a unit launched in 2015 as an emblem of the alliance.
ROK stands for South Korea’s official name, Republic of Korea. Brandon C. Anderson, the deputy commander of the combined division, stressed the robustness of the two countries’ security partnership forged during the 1950-53 Korean War. “I would say that there is no stronger alliance in the world than the U.S.-ROK alliance. That provides hopefully the stability and the competence,” he said. “We’ve never let down our guard. Nor is there an intention.” Wednesday’s training in Pocheon involved drills with K9 and Paladin self-propelled howitzers; 4.2-inch and 120-mm mortars; K1A2 and M1A2 Abrams tanks; and A-10 aircraft — an amalgam of weapons underlining the allies’ firepower.