(Yonhap Feature) S. Korea-U.S. joint drills target growing N. Korean WMD threats

All News 16:16 March 12, 2025

By Chae Yun-hwan

YANGJU, South Korea, March 12 (Yonhap) -- Under the cover of yellow smoke screens, South Korean soldiers cut through barbed wire before charging into a training ground in Yangju, just north of Seoul, on Wednesday during joint drills with U.S. troops over North Korean weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).

Simulating an assault on a North Korean facility suspected of storing an unidentified WMD, the drills were designed to secure and neutralize North Korean WMDs in the event of an all-out war as the allies seek to enhance readiness against Pyongyang's growing nuclear threats.

Aerial drones equipped with K2 rifles and an unmanned armed vehicle provided covering fire as South Korean troops from the 25th Infantry Division in gas masks and protective gear deployed a four-legged robot to enter and clear enemy-occupied buildings.

Once the area was secured, U.S. troops under a Stryker combat vehicle unit advanced into a pitch-black underground bunker to seize and remove the weapon, guided by the faint green glow of light sticks scattered on the ground.

An unmanned vehicle leads South Korean troops to enter a training ground simulating a North Korean weapons of mass destruction facility in Yangju, north of Seoul, during joint drills with U.S. troops on March 12, 2025. (Yonhap)

The Army granted rare media access for the drills targeting WMDs at the remote training site in the mountains, which took place as part of the allies' ongoing annual Freedom Shield exercise.

Cross-border tensions flared up this week after North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles into the Yellow Sea on Monday in apparent anger over the annual springtime exercise that kicked off the same day.

Pyongyang has long decried the allies' joint drills as a rehearsal for an invasion, despite South Korea and the United States describing such exercises as defensive in nature.

The North has issued a series of condemnations against Freedom Shield since late last week, denouncing it Tuesday as training for a "preemptive" strike against the country's nuclear weapons facilities.

An Army official said Wednesday's drills proceeded under a scenario set after a war had already broken out, noting troops trained on securing facilities containing an unidentified WMD rather than procedures to eliminate a specific weapon.

Some 500 personnel participated in the WMD exercise, with South Korean troops mostly focused on working together with advanced unmanned assets to overpower enemy forces at the simulated WMD site.

U.S. troops prepare to enter a bunker simulating a North Korean weapons of mass destruction facility at a training ground in Yangju, north of Seoul, on March 12, 2025. (Yonhap)

The allies have sought to sharpen readiness against North Korean WMD threats, highlighted by Pyongyang's continued push to diversify its nuclear delivery systems and large stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.

Last October, North Korea test-fired the Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile, which is theoretically capable of striking the U.S. mainland. Pyongyang is also believed to possess about 2,500-5,000 tons of chemical weapons, according to South Korea's defense white paper.

Lt. Col. Ma Dong-hyuk, who oversaw the exercise, said the training allowed his troops to practice joint operations with U.S. troops in a realistic manner, vowing to continue to stage such drills.

"(We) will strengthen the South Korean and U.S. militaries' interoperability through continued (personnel) exchange, cooperation and combined exercises," he said.

The springtime Freedom Shield exercise is based on a scenario of an all-out war and takes place across all domains, including land, air, sea, cyber and space. This year's exercise will involve some 19,000 South Korean troops.