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| Vehicles carry missiles during a military parade in Pyongyang |
The drills, which will conclude on Saturday (10/22/2022) are the latest in a series of South Korean military exercises in recent weeks, including joint activities with the United States and Japan.
"Joining some of the US forces, South Korean forces will focus on maintaining readiness and enhancing the troop's ability to carry out joint operations during the Hoguk drills," the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. "The forces will conduct simulated real-world day and night maneuvers against North Korea's nuclear, missile and other threats, so they can master wartime and peacetime mission performance capabilities and enhance interoperability with some U.S. forces," the statement continued.
The latest field training comes as North Korea has been testing weapons at an unprecedented pace this year. North Korea fired short-range ballistic missiles and hundreds of artillery shells near the heavily armed inter-Korean border on Friday.
Pyongyang has angrily reacted to South Korea and its joint military activities, calling them provocations and threatening retaliation. Seoul also said the exercises were regular and defense-oriented. Last week, tensions flared after North Korea fired missiles, fired more than 500 artillery shells and flew warplanes near the war-prone sea border.
Seoul condemned Pyongyang and imposed its first unilateral sanctions in nearly five years, describing the move as a violation of a 2018 bilateral military pact that prohibits "hostile acts" in border areas. However, North Korea has accused the South Korean military of raising tensions with their own artillery fire.