Seoul to hold drill simulating North Korean nuclear attack

Col. Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Col. Ryan Donald, spokesperson for South Korea-US Combined Forces, speak during a joint news conference on Monday in Seoul. (Yonhap)

South Korea will stage the first government-wide drill against North Korean nuclear attack scenarios as part of Ulchi Freedom Shield, an annual joint and combined exercise with the United States.

The UFS this year is set to take place from Aug. 19 to 29, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command on Monday.

The South Korean JCS said alongside the military exercises, the government will hold a first-ever drill training officials and staffers to respond to a potential nuclear strike by North Korea.

“This year’s exercise will include a (government) drill preparing for North Korean nuclear threats,” Col. Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson of the JCS, said during a press conference held at the Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Seoul.

Troops will not train under a North Korean nuclear attack scenario, Lee added, citing Gen. Paul LaCamera, the US Forces Korea commander.

LaCamera said earlier during an Aug. 1 forum hosted by the Institute for Corean-American Studies that nuclear operation was “not in the scenario.”

Over this UFS, the South Korean military will also prepare for launching a Strategic Command, the South’s JCS said.

The Strategic Command, to be established under the JCS later this year, is to be tasked with unified command of the military’s strategic assets such as the Hyunmoo family of ballistic missiles, stealth fighter jets and 3,000-ton submarines.

At Monday’s joint conference, South Korean and US military officials said that they aim to “further strengthen its capability and posture to deter and defend against weapons of mass destruction,” in particular.

Col. Ryan Donald, spokesperson for the US Forces Korea, said this exercise “reflects realistic threats across all domains such as Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s increasing missile threats, GPS jamming, cyber-attacks, and lessons learned from recent armed conflicts.” DPRK is North Korea’s formal name.

Over the past few months, North Korea has launched thousands of balloons carrying trash toward the South in what it said was a tit-for-tat move against anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets flown by some activists in the South.