Korea, U.S. kick off joint amphibious drill amid N. Korean threats

The Navy and Marine Corps have kicked off an amphibious landing operation along the eastern coast and the eastern coast city of Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. The South Korean military authorities said the training is being held by more than 10 vessels including the Aegis destroyers and landing ships, more than 30 army, navy, and air force aircrafts and the Korean Assault Amphibious Vehicles, or KAAV, and 2,600 soldiers from the Navy. Some 130 U.S. Navy forces will join to examine the allied landing training procedures.

The training will proceed from marine activities of landing forces, elimination of North Korean military threat facilities in advance, and destroying North Korean power in target areas with warship guns and navy forces. The landing training will be carried out on Thursday. Also, soldiers aboard on landing vessels, transport aircrafts, helicopters and KAVV will be supported by Navy vessels' warship gunning, army's attack helicopters and air force's combat aircrafts, to simultaneously land on target coastal areas. Afterwards, there will be follow-up landing and command unit's promotion of training, and urgent distribution training on air for landing forces. Two private transport ships will also join to verify ship mobilization capability for potential war.

Prior to the training, a four-day cooperative military training has kicked off along the eastern coast on Monday for potential coastal provocation of North Korea. Some 20 Navy vessels including Aegis destroyers, army, navy, air force aircrafts including P3 maritime patrol aircraft, U.S. Navy's P8 maritime patrol aircraft (Poseidon), and army’s defensive forces. The participating forces will carry out response to local provocation of northern limit line, offshore military strikes, surface warfare, submarine warfare, training of shooting of warship guns, and invasion defense training to respond to special warfare troops.

Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com