Asia (bbabo.net), - The military departments of South Korea and the United States announced a command and staff exercise in February with the scenario of the use of nuclear weapons by North Korea.
“In February, a headquarters exercise will be held on the management of extended deterrence with a scenario involving the use of nuclear weapons by the North,” the report of the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea posted today, January 11, on the goals and objectives for the current year.
According to the Yonhap agency, the command and staff exercises will be held in the second half of February in the United States, the South Korean delegation of participants will be headed by the Deputy Minister of Defense. The parties will also discuss actions to initiate cooperation with the international community in the event of a nuclear strike by the DPRK.
“Earlier command and control exercises focused on the discussion of containment and crisis management. Now the scale will increase, as the North even hinted at the possibility of using nuclear weapons, which worried our fellow citizens, ”said Yonhap’s source.
It is noted that such theoretical training of the American and South Korean military took place annually since 2011, but under the previous president Moon Jae-in, who advocated dialogue with the DPRK, they took place only twice.
Also this spring, the Allies plan to conduct the Freedom Shield exercise for the first time without interruption for 11 days. Previously, the US and South Korean military took a short pause between parts of the maneuvers.
“We are using realistic scenarios that reflect the current security situation, given the lessons of the conflict in Ukraine and the growing threat from North Korea,” the defense ministry document says.
In total, Seoul and Washington plan to conduct about 20 field exercises in the first half of 2023, Yonhap points out. The report also indicated that by expanding the scope and frequency of US strategic assets in the Korean Peninsula region, the South Korean side wants to get "the same effect" as from a permanent deployment.
bbabo.Net