(LEAD) Yoon oversees S. Korea-U.S. live-fire drills

All News 21:13 June 15, 2023

(ATTN: UPDATES with Yoon's remarks; ADDS photo)
By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, June 15 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday oversaw live-fire drills staged jointly by South Korean and U.S. forces on the largest-ever scale, his office said.

The Combined Joint Live-Fire Exercise, the first of its kind in six years, was held at the Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, just 25 kilometers south of the inter-Korean border, to mark the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and the 75th anniversary of the founding of South Korea's armed forces.

More than 610 military assets were mobilized for the drills, including F-35A fighters and K9 self-propelled howitzers from the South Korean side, and F-16 fighter jets and Gray Eagle drones from the U.S. side, with the participation of more than 2,500 South Korean and American troops from 71 units.

President Yoon Suk Yeol observes the Combined Joint Live-Fire Exercise at the Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, just 25 kilometers south of the inter-Korean border, on June 15, 2023. (Yonhap)

"True peace is when we defend our national security with our own strength, not a fake peace that relies on the enemy's good will," Yoon in a speech at the end of the exercise.

"Only a strong military that can fight the enemy and win, and that the enemy dares not challenge, can guarantee the freedom, peace and prosperity of the Republic of Korea," he added, referring to South Korea by its formal name.

Yoon vowed to defend the nation through a firm security posture and live environment training.

The exercise was held under the scenario of a North Korean provocation, with the first part focusing on responding to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and repelling its possible attack. The second part demonstrated the allies' counterattack capabilities.

The drills were watched by some 2,000 people, including 300 people invited as "citizen observers," Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, the chiefs of staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force and South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command chief Gen. Paul LaCamera.

The combined exercise began last month and was staged a total of five times, with the last round held Thursday.