Pocheon: South Korean and U.S. troops have commenced a significant combined live-fire exercise at a firing range close to the inter-Korean border to bolster their joint operational capabilities, as reported by South Korea’s Army on Monday. The exercise, which spans three weeks, began last Monday at the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, situated roughly 30 kilometers south of the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas. It involves approximately 2,000 troops and over 150 pieces of military equipment.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the allied troops have formed combined units to conduct several drills featuring South Korean K1A2 tanks, U.S. Stryker combat vehicles, M777A2 howitzers, Apache attack helicopters, and A-10 attack aircraft. These drills aim to enhance the allies’ combined operational capabilities and assist the U.S. military’s rotational Stryker unit in acclimating to the conditions on the Korean Peninsula following its deployment to South Korea last October.
The exercise, conducted regularly, was previously a standalone training event exclusively for rotational U.S. Stryker units. However, South Korean troops joined the exercise for the first time in July last year, marking a shift towards greater collaboration between the two nations’ military forces.