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S.Korea, US to conduct massive landing exercises
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-29 16:01

SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States will hold a massive landing exercise in South Korea in November, the South Korean Marine Corps said Wednesday.

According to the South Korean Marine Corps, a total of 8,000 troops and some 70 amphibious assault vehicles will participate into the drills. It will be largest joint landing exercises in South Korea's history.

About 2,000 US marines from the 31st US Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Okinawa, Japan, will come to South Korea to join the military drills, it said.

"Through the upcoming exercise, the South Korean Marine Corps seeks to develop the command capabilities of the two countries' Combined Marine Component Command while working to establish an effective network of cooperation among command-level units," said a press release by the Marine Corps.

The exercise will be held throughout next week in the southeastern city of Pohang while a large-scale landing maneuver will be conducted next Thursday, the press release said.

More than 30 attack and utility helicopters and 27 naval ships will be involved in the exercises, it said.

The massive landing exercise is conducted after US Gen. Walter Sharp, the commander of US Forces Korea and the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command (CFC), ordered the CFC in July to conduct a division-size amphibious drill, Yonhap said.