[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Strengthened ROK-US Marine Corps Training

British Commando Special Forces Participate in This Year's Ssangryong Exercise
Majority of Time Spent on Stabilization Operations Following North Korean Regime Collapse

This year, a company of the British Army's elite special forces unit, the 'Commando,' will participate for the first time in the joint amphibious landing exercise 'Ssangryong Exercise' conducted by the Republic of Korea and U.S. Marine Corps. The Ssangryong Exercise, which had been suspended since 2018, has been revived after five years, and more than 20 joint ROK-U.S. Marine Corps exercises under the Korea Marine Exercise Program (KMEP) are scheduled to take place this year.

The ROK-US Marine Corps have been conducting a regimental-level "ROK-US Combined Air-Ground Combat Training" at the Pohang Marine Corps Training Center in Gyeongbuk from the 27th of last month to the 14th of this month.

According to the military on the 9th, the Ssangryong Exercise is scheduled to be held from the 20th of this month to the 2nd of next month in the Pohang area of Gyeongbuk Province. The exercise is centered on the ROK and U.S. Marine Corps and involves the deployment of various equipment including a 40,000-ton large assault landing ship equipped with F-35B stealth vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, dock landing ships, and landing maneuver helicopters, as well as large-scale forces at the regimental level or higher. The landing exercise is conducted in an 'offensive nature' following the sequence of troop and equipment loading, movement, rehearsal, and decisive actions (coastal infiltration, assault, landing). Notably, this year, most of the exercise is reportedly dedicated to counterattack (offensive) operations and operations related to the collapse and stabilization of the North Korean regime.

The Ssangryong Exercise has been conducted biennially from 2012 as part of the ROK-U.S. combined field training exercise 'Foal Eagle' (FE) until 2018. However, the 'Foal Eagle' exercise, which involved forces below the regimental level from both the ROK and U.S. militaries, was abolished in 2019. The 2020 Defense White Paper even omitted any mention of the Ssangryong Exercise.

The Korea Marine Exercise Program (KMEP), a joint ROK-U.S. Marine Corps exercise, was held 14 times in 2016, 17 times in 2017, and 11 times in 2018. In 2019, KMEP was conducted 24 times, but due to the impact of COVID-19, it was held 7 times in 2020 and 16 times in 2021. Last year, it maintained a similar level to previous years.

However, this year, there are plans to significantly increase the number of exercises. The exercise, which was reduced in frequency during the Moon Jae-in administration and used as a lure card toward North Korea, has now become a warning card.