[Yang Nak-gyu's Defense Club] Naval Live-Fire Exercise Conducted Today

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu Reporter] On the afternoon of the 11th, a joint naval firing exercise involving the Army, Navy, and Air Force was scheduled to take place. Due to bad weather, the scale was reduced by cutting down the Navy and Air Force participation.

According to government officials on that day, the military planned to conduct a naval firing exercise with combined Army, Navy, and Air Force forces off the coast of Jukbyeon, Uljin, Gyeongbuk Province in the afternoon. This exercise simulated a scenario where North Korea provokes military aggression in the East Sea, using advanced detection means to identify targets and striking the point of provocation and supporting forces with joint Army and Navy firepower. The military originally intended to conduct the naval firing exercise at the same location on the 19th of last month but postponed it due to deteriorating weather conditions.

Although there were suspicions that the exercise was postponed due to concerns over North Korea's backlash at the time, it was confirmed that the weather was genuinely unsuitable for conducting the exercise. Considering the weather and other factors, the military reviewed whether to proceed with the exercise until recently but ultimately decided to conduct a scaled-down version, judging that cancellation was unnecessary. The Air Force, which had initially planned to launch air-to-ground missiles from FA-50 fighter jets, did not deploy any fighters on this day, and only one Navy chase plane for firing support was mobilized. The Navy also reportedly reduced the number of ships participating in the exercise.

However, the Army deployed the Cheonmu (MLRS), known as the "Korean version of Steel Rain." Cheonmu had conducted live-fire exercises at the Songjiho firing range in 2017 during heightened military tensions between the South and North but has refrained from live firing since the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement. The guided missiles launched from Cheonmu, with a maximum range of 80 km, hit targets about 40 km away.

The military appears to be conducting the exercise to prevent suspicions such as "practically canceling the exercise" if the exercise, which had already been postponed once, were postponed again, by at least conducting some level of training. Some analysts suggest that the scaled-down exercise may be a measure considering the currently strained inter-Korean relations.

According to the September 19 military agreement, firing exercises at the firing range in Goseong, Gangwon Province, have been virtually suspended.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.