Seoul, November 4 (EFE).- South Korea’s military will next week conduct military exercises based on computer simulations at a time marked by a record number of missiles launched by North Korea in response to aerial maneuvers carried out by Seoul and Washington in the past few days.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced today that its annual Taeguk maneuvers, a command post exercise that does not involve a field deployment, will take place between November 7 and 11.
Still, the exercise seeks to “honen practical capabilities in real-world missions in dealing with various challenges such as those posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and its recent provocations,” the JCS said in a statement.
Shortly after the announcement, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup said in Washington, where he is visiting for annual security consultations with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin, that this week’s Vigilant storm would last another day, until tomorrow, Saturday.
After Pyongyang launched nearly thirty missiles of various types between Wednesday and Thursday in protest against the Vigilant storm, the allies announced a day earlier that the drills, which involve about 240 aircraft and were due to end today, would be extended, without specifying How many days .
Lee’s announcement also comes hours after he and Austin agreed to strengthen so-called “extended deterrence” in four specific sectors – information sharing, consultation processes, planning and execution – in which Seoul’s role has so far been limited or non-existent, in light of the latest North Korean actions.
Extended, or extended, deterrence is a commitment Washington made with Seoul last May, consisting of sending US strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula “in a coordinated manner and when necessary” based on actions by the North’s regime.
Tensions on the peninsula are reaching unprecedented heights in the face of repeated North Korean weapons tests, allied maneuvers and the possibility that, as satellites show, the Kim Jong-un regime is poised to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017. EFE
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