Joint military exercises, spying on the military situation, South Korea and the United States to stimulate North Korea’s nerves？
CCTV News:The United States and South Korea held a joint military exercise of "Eight Freedom Guards" on the 21st. On the eve of the military exercise, North Korea criticized the move of the United States and South Korea to "add fuel to the fire" in the extremely tense situation on the Korean Peninsula, and once again threatened that Guam, Hawaii or the United States would be attacked mercilessly if provoked. The United States frequently dispatched U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance planes to closely monitor North Korea’s developments.
U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance plane
Protesting people
The Korean people said that the Korean-American military exercise started today. I think it is correct to reduce the scale of the military exercise or stop it permanently, because the military exercise will only stimulate North Korea when the situation on the peninsula is tense.
Amid the protests, South Korea and the United States launched the annual "Eight Freedom Guards" joint military exercise as scheduled on the 21st, focusing on testing the defense, interception and punishment system against North Korea’s nuclear-guided attack.
However, the number of US troops participating in this year’s 17,500 is significantly less than last year’s 25,000. On the 20th, US Defense Secretary Matisse deliberately "clarified" that the number of US troops in the military exercise was reduced by 7,500, which was definitely not because of North Korea’s opposition.
US Defense Minister: Reducing the scale of participation in the US military is not because of North Korea’s opposition
Matisse said that the number of participants in the US military varies according to the purpose of the exercise. This training is mainly a rear command post exercise, which is a defensive exercise. North Korea is also very clear that the nuclear war exercise emphasized by North Korea is by no means a fact.
US Defense Secretary Matisse said that no matter how North Korea claims, it is known that the Korean-American military exercise is a defensive exercise, which has been going on for decades.
On the 20th, North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun published a document saying that the joint military exercise of "Eight Freedom Guards" between the United States and South Korea is hostile to North Korea, and this exercise "will only add fuel to the fire" and "further worsen" the situation on the Korean Peninsula. The report also said that North Korea can "aim at the United States at any time", and not only Guam, Hawaii, but even the United States itself "cannot avoid a merciless blow".
Although the number of US military participants has decreased, the degree of attention has not been less. On the occasion of the military exercise, it is rare for high-level US military personnel to visit South Korea one after another.
Korean media: It is rare for high-level US military personnel to visit Korea one after another during the military exercise.
South Korean Defense Minister Song Yongwu meets with visiting commander of US Pacific Command.
On 20th, Commander Harris of the US Pacific Command visited the South Korean Defense Minister Song Yongwu. On the same day, General John Haydn of the US Strategic Command also visited South Korea, attended the departure ceremony of the Speaker of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff together with Harris, discussed how to deal with the North Korean nuclear threat, and visited the joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States held on 21st. In addition, Samuel Grievous, the new director of the Missile Defense Agency of the US Department of Defense, will also visit South Korea this week. Dunford, chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, also visited South Korea last week. Korean media said that the senior US military officials visiting South Korea were responsible for operations and reinforcements, strategic weapons use and missile defense in the event of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula — — Commanders of the three main axes. It is rare for them to visit South Korea on the occasion of the joint military exercise of "Eight Freedom Guards". It is reported that senior US military commanders will also hold a joint press conference this week to issue a tough warning to North Korea.
"Eight Freedom Guards" does not include field training similar to "online games"
U.S.-South Korea Freedom Guardian Military Exercise
The "Eight Branches" in the joint military exercise of the "Eight Branches Freedom Guardian" was named after the ancient Korean famous name "Eight Branches Wende". As the largest computerized military command exercise in the world, the "Eight Freedom Guards" is mainly conducted by computer simulation, which does not include field mobile training, and is more like a large-scale "online game".Yonhap News Agency said that this year’s exercise will last about 10 days. Seven countries, including Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, will also appear together. As for whether the US military’s strategic weapons will be used, the ROK did not specify.
Although the "Eight Freedom Guards" is a joint command post exercise, excluding field maneuvers, during the exercise, South Korea’s own Marine Corps sent a squadron to Ulleungdo for the first time to organize training to deal with the local war in Korea. The first batch of 90 members took the South Korean Navy landing ship to Ulleungdo on the 19th. After arriving at the coast of Ulleungdo, the team members changed to assault boats and went ashore. TV North Korean TV said that the facial expressions of the officers and men conducting search and reconnaissance were full of tension.
Yonhap News Agency TV said that in 2016, North Korea launched a submarine-launched ballistic missile during the "Eight Freedom Guards" military exercise between South Korea and the United States. In 2015, North Korea conducted shelling training during the Korean-American military exercise. What action North Korea will take this year will directly affect the future trend of the Korean Peninsula.