South Korea has staged live-fire and maneuver drills near the inter-Korean border, involving U.S. military engineers, the Army said Thursday, as the allies' major annual springtime exercise was set to draw to a close. The weeklong drills began last Friday at Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, just 25 kilometers south of the inter-Korean border, in connection with the combined Freedom Shield exercise designed to bolster deterrence against the North's threats. The drills involved some 300 personnel and mobilized the Army's K1A2 tanks and K21 armored vehicles, among other assets, as well as M1150 assault breacher vehicles from a combined South Korea-U.S. engineering unit. South Korean and U.S. troops formed joint battle teams in an effort to strengthen combined operational capabilities, staging a live-fire exercise Thursday against simulated enemy forces. Dozens of K1A2 tanks and K21 armored vehicles fired at enemy targets as South Korean and U.S. engineers removed obstacles to clear a path for the tan ks and armored vehicles to secure the enemy's position, according to the Army. North Korea has long accused the allies' joint drills as rehearsals for an invasion against it, while Seoul and Washington have said they are defensive in nature. On Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un guided a training competition between tank units, where he drove a newly unveiled tank, state media reported, in an apparent show of force against the allies' ongoing drills. The computer-simulated Freedom Shield exercise will end later in the day after kicking off March 4. The allies staged a series of concurrent on-field drills to boost readiness against North Korean threats. Source: Yonhap News Agency
