Seoul, Oct 27: South Korean and US troops have been conducting live-fire exercises this week to hone their ability to respond to potential “Hamas-style surprise artillery attacks” by North Korea, South Korea’s military said on Friday.
The two forces regularly conduct live-fire and other training, but this week’s drills come after Hamas’ October 7 assault on Israel raised security jitters in South Korea, which shares the world’s most heavily fortified border with rival North Korea.
Experts say the North’s forward-deployed long-range artillery guns can fire about 16,000 rounds per hour in the event of a conflict, posing a serious threat to Seoul, which is about 40-50 kilometres from the border.
The three-day firing exercises, which began Wednesday, involved 5,400 South Korean and US soldiers, 300 artillery systems, 1,000 vehicles and air force assets, according to South Korea’s military.
North Korea didn’t immediately react to the drills. It typically views these training as invasion rehearsals. (AP)
