AFP, SEOUL: South Korea conducted a large-scale live fire exercise Monday on the East Sea, where North Korea has been upping tensions with a series of missile and rocket launches supervised by leader Kim Jong-Un.
The drill involving K-9 self-propelled artillery units and 130mm multiple rocket launchers was held in the coastal county of Goseong, which borders the North.
The aim of the exercise was to role play “the scenario of a possible North Korean maritime provocation”, South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-Gyun told reporters.
It comes during an extended period of elevated military tensions on the Korean peninsula, triggered by Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test on January 6.
Over the past month, Kim Jong-Un has personally monitored numerous rocket and missile launches into the East Sea, including the North’s first test of a medium-range ballistic missile for two years.