U.S. Forces Korea reveals artillery firing drills

SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) on Friday disclosed footage of its recent "routine" artillery live-fire training, after North Korea fired artillery shells on the pretext of responding to such drills.

In a Facebook post, the USFK said that soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 18th Field Artillery Regiment (FAR) and 210th Field Artillery Brigade conducted the drills near Pocheon, 41 kilometers north of Seoul, recently.

Footage showed U.S. troops firing multiple launch rocket systems at a mountainous training site, which the USFK called "Rocket Valley."

"Routine training, like the type shown, helps units like the 2-18th FAR hone their skills and maintain 'Fight Tonight' readiness," the USFK wrote.

Earlier this week, the North fired hundreds of artillery shells in western and eastern maritime buffer zones set under a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement aimed at reducing border tensions. It took issue with live-fire drills south of the border.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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