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US and South Korean Marines pose for a photo during
a joint landing drill, in the southeastern
on March 30, 2015 (AFP Photo/Jung Yeon-Je)
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Pohang (South Korea) (AFP) --- Thousands
of US and South Korean troops, backed by helicopters and jet fighters, staged a
massive, amphibious landing drill on Monday -- the centrepiece of an annual
military exercise condemned by North Korea.
A total of 7,600
soldiers, including 3,500 marines, along with 80 aircraft, 30 ships, and scores
of armoured vehicles and tanks, took part in the drill to secure a bridgehead
along the coast of Pohang, some 360 kilometres (223 miles) south of Seoul.
Supervised by US
and South Korean military commanders, the landing exercise was the highlight of
the eight-week Foal Eagle drill which is scheduled to end on April 24.
The annual drills
always trigger a surge in military tensions between the two Koreas , which
remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a
ceasefire rather than a peace treaty.
The United States and South
Korea insist the joint exercises are defensive in nature,
but North Korea
denounces them as provocative rehearsals for invasion.
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