S. Korea conducts firing drill near land border with the North

SEOUL, Dec. 23 Kyodo -
South Korea conducted large-scale firing drills near the land border with North
Korea on Thursday, an apparent show of force against any new provocation from
Pyongyang.
The army and air force joint drills mobilized some 800 troops and 105 types of
modern weaponry, including K9 self-propelled howitzers, attack helicopters,
multiple-launch rocket systems and six fighter jets, according to South Korea's
Defense Ministry.
''The drills aim at checking preparedness to deliver strong retaliation against
the enemy's provocation,'' a statement said.
The drills at Pocheon in Gyeonggi Province are the latest in a series South
Korea has held in the wake of the North's artillery attack in late November on
a western border island that left four South Koreans dead.
The North's attack was the deadliest on a civilian target since the 1950-1953
Korean War.
Meanwhile, President Lee Myung Bak visited a frontline military army unit in
Gangwon Province on Thursday to check defense preparedness, according to the
presidential office.
''Our armed forces should maintain impregnable defense and also launch
merciless counterattack when they come under a surprise attack,'' Lee said
during his visit to the army unit, according to a pool report.
Lee also said he believed being patient with North Korea would bring peace on
the Korean Peninsula, but the reality was not so.
On Monday, South Korea conducted a live-fire drill from Yeonpyeong Island, the
site of the shelling by North Korea in November.
The South's navy began a four-day maritime exercise off the east coast
Wednesday that involves six naval ships and Lynx antisubmarine helicopters.
The drills, about 100 kilometers south of the eastern sea maritime border with
the North, aim at beefing up preparedness for possible intrusion by submarines
and patrol boats.
==Kyodo