Putin Indicates Participation of Korea and Japan in Military Drill

Russia is reported to launch a large-scale joint military drill in the Far East region next year.

Japan`s Tokyo Daily reported on the 29th that this would be the largest of its kind in the Far East region since the breakdown of the Soviet Union.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is now making a tour of the Far East region, visited the command for the Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok on the 26th. There, Putin was briefed about the military drill plan by Russia`s Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, and approved it.

In particular, President Putin said, "This military drill has significant strategic implications as it includes joint military response with neighboring countries," indicating that the drill could be expanded to joint drill with neighboring countries such as Korea and Japan.

Earlier this month, Russia mobilized 60 warships and 10,000 military personnel and carried out a large-scale joint military drill of the army, navy and air forces together with Azerbaidjan and Kazakhstan for two weeks in the Caspian Sea..

The scale of the proposed military drill in the Far East region next year is expected to be the same as this year`s military drill held in the Caspian Sea.

Russia`s Pacific Fleet is one of the four major fleets and is equipped with strategic nukes and a nuclear submarine. Russia`s Navy has significantly weakened since the collapse of the Soviet Union mainly due to the halt of large-scale military drills and obsolete equipment. The Pacific Fleet is said to have been reduced by half in size for the past 10 years.

It appears that Russia, which is promoting the military reform, wants to take next year`s military drill as an opportunity to strengthen its Navy.

Young-Ee Lee Ki-Hyun Kim yes202@donga.com kimkihy@donga.com