South Korea, US hold joint military drill

South Korea and the United States hold a large scale live-fire exercise amid mounting tensions on the Korean peninsula. Photo grabbed from Reuters video file.
South Korea and the United States hold a large-scale live-fire exercise amid mounting tensions on the Korean peninsula. Screenshot  from Reuters video file.

POCHEON, South Korea (Reuters) — South Korean and United States troops held a joint live-fire exercise on Wednesday (April 26) amid mounting tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The two countries staged the live fire drill featuring a wide array of army aviation, artillery, and armored vehicles at an artillery range in Pocheon, about 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) northeast of Seoul.

The South Korean defense ministry said about 2,000 troops from both countries participated in the drill and they used 250 military weapons including K2 tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), Apache helicopters and A-10 combat jets.

The joint drill called the Integrated Firepower Exercise 2017 was held on April 13, 21 and 26.

The video was filmed on April 21 and it has been under embargo until 0600 GMT Wednesday (April 26).

There are around 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea, where the US has maintained a large military presence since the 1950-53 Korean War.