A massive military exercise between the US and South Korea is about to kick off — check out why North Korea hates it

South Korean (blue headbands) and U.S. Marines take positions as amphibious assault vehicles of the South Korean Marine Corps fire smoke bombs during a U.S.-South Korea joint landing operation drill in Pohang, South Korea, March 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiThomson Reuters

Joint-training exercises with allied nations is nothing new to the US military. It reinforces relations between foreign powers and familiarizes them with each other’s standard operating procedures in the event of a military conflict.

As one of these important allies, South Korea has trained with the US military for years to stabilize the Korean peninsula in case of a flashpoint crisis. Because North and South Korea are technically still at war, the US’s presence is seen by many as a deterrent to a conflict with North Korea.

The two major drills — Foal Eagle and Key Resolve — will include, respectively, 11,500 US troops and 290,000 South Korean troops, and 12,200 US troops and 10,000 South Korean troops.

Although the drills were originally scheduled for March, it was postponed after North Korea resumed diplomatic relations with South Korea amid the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Unlike previous years where North Korea claimed the drills were a precursor to a military strike, North Korea’s response to this year’s exercises has been surprisingly muted.

The Pentagon reiterated that the drills had a “defensive nature,” and that this year’s version would be “at a scale similar to that of the previous years.”

Check out the photos of the US and South Korean military in action:

South Korean amphibious assault vehicles throw smoke bombs as they make it to the shore during Foal Eagle, March 30, 2015.

Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji

US Marines and South Korean soldiers await further orders inside their armored vehicle, during a joint combat training exercise.

Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

US Marines also train in South Korean vehicles. Here, US Marines run out from a South Korean LVT-7 during a joint landing exercise for Foal Eagle, in Pohang, South Korea, March 31, 2014.

Ahn Young-joon/AP


See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

SEE ALSO: North Korea and South Korea met in the ‘truce village’ of Panmunjom — these extraordinary photos show what it’s like

Post Author: martin

Martin is an enthusiastic programmer, a webdeveloper and a young entrepreneur. He is intereted into computers for a long time. In the age of 10 he has programmed his first website and since then he has been working on web technologies until now. He is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of BriefNews.eu and PCHealthBoost.info Online Magazines. His colleagues appreciate him as a passionate workhorse, a fan of new technologies, an eternal optimist and a dreamer, but especially the soul of the team for whom he can do anything in the world.

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