A K1A2 tank of the Capital Mechanized Infantry Division fires a shell at a training field in the border county of Cheorwon, 85 kilometers northeast of Seoul, on Aug. 30, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has staged a large-scale Army exercise this week, mobilizing hundreds of armored vehicles, to reinforce its readiness against North Korean military threats, officials said Thursday.
The Army’s VII Maneuver Corps mobilized some 550 tracked vehicles, including tanks and self-propelled howitzers, as well as over 3,000 troops for the four-day drills that kicked off Monday in connection with the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise between South Korea and the United States.
On the first day of the drills, K2 tanks and K9 howitzers of the 11th Maneuver Division, based in Hongcheon County, 98 kilometers east of Seoul, traveled a distance of about 100 km through Tuesday to reach Gapyeong County, 50 km northeast of Seoul.
A K1A2 tank of the Capital Mechanized Infantry Division fires a shell at a training field in the border county of Cheorwon, 85 kilometers northeast of Seoul, on Aug. 30, 2023. (Yonhap)
The Capital Mechanized Infantry Division then mobilized its assets Wednesday to travel some 110 km between its headquarters in Gapyeong and the border county of Cheorwon, 85 km northeast of Seoul.
At a training ground in Cheorwon, the unit staged live-fire combat training with its K1A2 tanks and K21 armored vehicles, while K9 self-propelled howitzers held live-fire drills at another nearby training field.
During the exercise period, the Army’s 7th Engineer Brigade and the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division also held a combined river-crossing exercise in the border county.
The UFS exercise is set to end later in the day after it kicked off Aug. 21.
(Yonhap)
