WEB DESK: South Korea is planning to hold its first-ever government drill that simulates North Korea’s nuclear attack during the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday.
The JCS explained that South Korean and U.S. military authorities have decided to incorporate recent warfare trends and realistic threats into this year’s UFS, including North Korea’s escalating missile threats, GPS jamming, cyberattacks and various other threats across land, sea and air.
The exercise is slated to be held from Aug. 19 to 29. The first part of it will be conducted from Aug. 19 to 23, while the second part to be held solely by the military from Aug. 26 to 29.
“By focusing on countering threats from North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction, the ROK-U.S. alliance will further strengthen its capability and joint responses to any provocation with multi-domain operations using various assets,” Col. Lee Sung-joon, spokesperson of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a press briefing held at the defense ministry in Seoul, Monday.
“The military will enhance the nation’s overall capacity for total war in order to protect the lives and safety of the people through government agencies’ wartime preparedness exercises and actual drills, including responses to cyberattacks and terrorism,” Lee stressed.
During the first part of UFS, which will be led primarily by the government, a nationwide civil defense evacuation drill will be conducted on Aug. 22 under a scenario simulating a North Korean nuclear attack. The North Korea nuclear response headquarters for civil protection will also be established under the direction of the prime minister during the exercise.
The second part of the exercise, led by the military, will involve various large-scale field training exercises, including a combined amphibious landing drill. U.S. strategic assets are also expected to be deployed during this period.
In May, North Korea condemned the UFS as a “nuclear attack drill” and warned that South Korea and the United States should “first consider the catastrophic consequences” of such exercises.
