[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu Reporter] The military postponed a large-scale maritime live-fire exercise scheduled for the 19th. The military officially explained the reason for the postponement as "bad weather," but there is also a view that the exercise was postponed to avoid provoking North Korea and to conduct it secretly.
On the 18th, Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo stated at a regular briefing, "This exercise was postponed due to bad weather, and we express regret over the distortion and exaggerated reporting that misrepresented the military's normal decision-making process as if other factors were involved."
This exercise assumes a situation 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 firepower from the army and navy.
The exercise was scheduled to gather all forces from the army, navy, and air force. First, the army's Cheonmu (MLRS), known as the "Korean version of Steel Rain," was highlighted. Cheonmu conducted live-fire exercises at Songjiho firing range in 2017 when military tensions between the South and North were high, but live-fire exercises have been restrained due to the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement. The Apache helicopter (AH-64E), considered the world's strongest attack helicopter, was also scheduled to participate. An Apache helicopter from the Army Aviation Operations Command in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, was reported to have recently flown about 250 km to Jukbyeon offshore to conduct live-fire training with Hellfire air-to-ground guided missiles.
Additionally, the navy planned to deploy Harpoon missiles and Haeseong-I, and the air force was to fire AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missiles mounted on the FA-50 light attack aircraft. It was reported that this would be the first time Maverick air-to-ground missiles would be fired in a joint exercise.
Some speculate that the government is likely to keep the exercise secret to avoid provoking North Korea. On the 6th, the military conducted a joint defense exercise with the Navy's 2nd Fleet in the West Sea operational area but did not announce it. Previously, North Korea criticized the South's joint air and naval defense exercises on the northwestern islands under the name of a spokesperson for the Ministry of People's Armed Forces.
After North Korea's criticism, suspicions arose that the Blue House summoned military officials to investigate and reprimand the circumstances of the first public report on the exercise by the Defense Daily. The Ministry of National Defense stated, "It is natural to consult on routine matters," implying that there was no reprimand from the Blue House. The Blue House also explained, "It is true that a meeting was held, but the meeting was a policy publicity review attended by the Ministry of National Defense spokesperson and public relations officers from each military branch, unrelated to military exercises or operations at the time."
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