Asia-Pacific

ROK to hold 'largest drill'

By Wu Jiao and Ma Liyao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-23 06:49

BEIJING - The Republic of Korea (ROK) announced land and sea military exercises on Wednesday, described by its military as the largest-ever live-fire drill, near the border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) just as tension on the peninsula was showing signs of easing.

A boat sails past an ROK naval supply base off Yeonpyeong Island near the disputed waters of the Yellow Sea on Wednesday. [Photo/Agencies]

The land drill, involving three dozen mobile artillery guns, six fighter jets, multiple launch rocket systems and 800 troops, the largest number of personnel in a single peace-time exercise, will take place on Thursday.

An ROK military spokesman said that the drill would be held at Pocheon, about 20 kilometers south of the border.

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Exercises have been held at Pocheon before, but this drill would be on an unprecedented scale, the spokesman said.

The announcement came just as tension on the peninsula seemed to have eased following the DPRK's non-retaliation for an ROK drill on Monday.

Reuters reported that the large drill on Thursday indicates that ROK President Lee Myung-bak sees more political mileage in taking a tough military stance rather than reverting to dialogue.

The DPRK has so far remained silent on the drills.

The DPRK said earlier in the week that Monday's brief ROK drill, near Yeonpyeong Island, shelled by the DPRK in November, "was not worth reacting to", though it described it as a "military provocation".

This led analysts to believe that tension on the peninsula had decreased.

The Foreign Ministry has not yet responded directly to the ROK's latest move but ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a regular news conference on Tuesday that China calls for all parties to exercise restraint.

DPRK soldiers take part in a shooting exercise in Kaepoong County, just north of the demilitarized zone, on Wednesday. [Photo/Agencies]

She also said all parties should realize that artillery fire and military force cannot solve the issues on the Korean Peninsula, and dialogue and cooperation are the only correct approach.

Jin Canrong, a professor of international studies at Renmin University of China, said that the ROK's continuing military provocation was based on its strategic conclusion that the DPRK is now in a phase of restraint.

"The DPRK's final goal is to talk with the United States on a peace treaty instead of getting engaged in military confrontation with the ROK. But if the US does not give due response, the DPRK's patience with the ROK's repeated drills will be limited," Jin said.

Ni Feng, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the ROK's continuing drills reflect pressure from its people but "I think the situation will ease off finally".

One of the dangers of military exercises is the increased chance of an accident, Scott Snyder, a US expert on Korean affairs, said and added that the likelihood of "another provocation" by the DPRK was low. He also stressed the importance of Sino-US cooperation, "whereas disagreement will make the prospect of higher tensions more likely".

The ROK also commenced three days of live-firing naval drills off the peninsula's east coast on Wednesday, Reuters quoted a media official from the ROK's Ministry of National Defense as saying without giving further details.

Cheng Guangjin, Chen Weihua and agencies contributed to this story.