South Korean troops from the Army’s 9th Infantry Division masked by a smoke screen make a charge during combined urban warfare drills at a training ground in Paju, 37 kilometers northwest of Seoul, on Aug. 23, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea and the United States were staging combined urban combat training this week to strengthen their interoperability, Seoul’s Army said Thursday, as part of major joint military drills between the allies this month.
The five-day Army exercise kicked off at an urban operations training ground in Paju, 37 kilometers northwest of Seoul, on Monday in connection with the allies’ Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise that began the same day.
The urban combat exercise mobilized some 500 troops, including soldiers from the South’s 9th Infantry Division, a U.S. infantry platoon and other units, as well as tanks and unmanned aerial vehicles to bolster the realism of the drills, the armed service said.
The two sides staged attack and defense operations at the training ground throughout the exercise period and enhanced combined operational capabilities at a battalion level, it added.
U.S. troops take part in combined urban warfare drills at a training ground in Paju, 37 kilometers northwest of Seoul, on Aug. 23, 2023, in this photo provided by the South Korean Army the next day.
They plan to analyze the progress made during the drills on Friday, and discuss ways for development.
“Through the training, (we) were able to strengthen combined operational capabilities in urban environments and improve realistic combat skills,” a South Korean Army battalion commander who led the drills was quoted as saying.
The UFS, which is scheduled to run until Aug. 31, will feature various contingency drills, including the computer simulation-based command post exercise, and concurrent field training.
(Yonhap)
