South Korean, U.S., British marines to begin Ssangyong amphibious landing exercise Monday

South Korean Marines and naval forces are set to kick off the annual Ssangyong amphibious landing exercise with U.S. and British counterparts in Pohang and along the eastern coast on Monday, defense officials said Sunday.

U.S. Marines practice driving amphibious combat vehicles into the sea at a beach in Pohang, North Gyeongsang, on Sunday, a day before the start of the Ssangyong joint landing exercise. [NEWS1]

South Korean Marines and naval forces are set to kick off the annual Ssangyong amphibious landing exercise with U.S. and British counterparts in Pohang and along the eastern coast on Monday, defense officials said Sunday.

The exercise is scheduled to take place from Monday to Sept. 7 and will involve division-level landing groups and approximately 40 naval vessels, including the amphibious assault ships ROKS Dokdo, ROKS Marado and USS Boxer, as well as F-35B stealth fighters and amphibious combat vehicles, according to a joint release by the South Korean Navy and Marine Corps.

The Royal Marines Commandos from Britain, who took part in last year’s Ssangyong exercise, are scheduled to participate this year, too.

U.S. Marines conduct checks on an amphibious combat vehicle at a beach in Pohang, North Gyeongsang, on Sunday before the start of the Ssangyong joint landing exercise. [YONHAP]

Drones operated by a joint military command established in September last year will conduct surveillance activities during the exercise for the first time, defense officials said.

They added that a combined staff group of leaders from the South Korean and U.S. Marine Corps will oversee the exercise from the ROKS Marado.

The Ssangyong exercise was revived last year after being effectively suspended from 2018 to 2022 while the previous Moon Jae-in administration tried to lower tensions with North Korea, whose official media has criticized joint South Korea-U.S. drills as rehearsals for an invasion of its territory.

Ssangyong in Korean means “double dragons,” referring to South Korea and the United States.

The allies plan to carry out what officials have called the “decisive action” phase of the landing exercise early next month.

In the past, that stage saw troops from landing ships storming a beach with support from fighter jets and helicopters, with South Korean Marines making landfall first using amphibious assault vehicles and securing a perimeter before U.S. Marines arrive on air-cushioned landing craft.

Fighter jets, helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft are used to defend the landing forces as they establish a beachhead.

The Ssangyong exercise kicks off the same day as the second phase of the joint Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which began on Aug. 19.

The first phase, which concluded on Thursday, included civil defense and evacuation drills conducted by the South Korean government and training in preparation for a hypothetical North Korean nuclear attack.

The second phase consists solely of military drills, including computer-simulated war games and 48 kinds of field training, including live-fire artillery drills.

During their announcement of the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, representatives of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and United States Forces Korea said they would focus on bolstering their readiness against various North Korean threats, including missiles, GPS jamming and cyberattacks and applying lessons from recent armed conflicts.

According to the JCS, approximately 19,000 South Korean soldiers across the country’s armed forces are expected to participate in 48 field training maneuvers during Ulchi Freedom Shield.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]