Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

South Korea's army carries out terrorism training exercise on subway

 

Nick Renaud-Komiya
Tuesday 20 August 2013 13:53 BST
Comments
Emergency services personnel wearing protective clothing participate in an anti-terror and anti-chemical drill session held as part of the Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise
Emergency services personnel wearing protective clothing participate in an anti-terror and anti-chemical drill session held as part of the Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

South Korean and US troops are taking part in joint military drills which will last for 11 days, ending on 30 August.

Here, South Korean security forces are seen taking part in an anti-terror and anti-chemical drill session in Seoul, the capital.

These exercises, which feature drills including the handling of chemical and biological attacks, form part of a regular joint exercise between US and South Korean soldiers to prepare for potential emergencies on the volatile Korean Peninsula.

The Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills are computer-simulated war games involving 30,000 American and 50,000 South Korean troops.

North Korea, with which the South is still technically in a state of war following the 1950-1953 conflict, on Tuesday criticized the military drills but in milder language than that previously seen from the regime of Kim Jong-un. This is being seen as a sign of a slight thawing in tensions between the two sides.

Pyongyang typically uses warlike rhetoric to condemn the South Korea-US exercises, which it has in the past described as a rehearsal for an invasion.

Click on gallery to view more images

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in