Increased Military Tensions in Korean Peninsula Waters This Week [Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club]

Ahead of South Korea-US-Japan Maritime Drill, Chinese and Russian Warships Gather
Our Navy Conducts Maritime Live-Fire Exercise... North Korea Expected to Protest

Military tensions are expected to linger over the waters of the Korean Peninsula this week. Chinese and Russian warships have gathered in the East Sea, facing off ahead of the South Korea-U.S.-Japan naval exercises. The trilateral naval exercise among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan is taking place just two months after the last one held in April.

According to the military on the 24th, the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71, 100,000-ton class) entered the Busan operational base on the 22nd. The Roosevelt will participate in the first multi-domain military exercise “Freedom Edge” involving South Korea, the U.S., and Japan scheduled for this month.

The Roosevelt will take part in Freedom Edge, conducting ballistic missile defense drills, anti-submarine warfare exercises, and more. Freedom Edge is a multi-domain exercise conducted across maritime, underwater, air, and cyber domains, representing an operational concept that transcends the traditional land, sea, and air battlefield divisions to align with modern warfare trends. This exercise is part of the implementation of a multi-year trilateral training plan jointly established by the defense authorities of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan under the “Camp David Agreement” reached in August last year.

Roosevelt Aircraft Carrier Arrives in Busan on the 22nd

The Roosevelt is over 300 meters long. Its flight deck area is three times the size of a soccer field. It has a crew of about 5,500. Known as a “floating military base,” this carrier carries more than 80 aircraft, including U.S. Navy fighter jets FA-18 (Super Hornet), airborne early warning aircraft, and helicopters. It is also equipped with electronic warfare equipment such as the E/A-18G, capable of disabling enemy radar bases and communication systems.

Ahead of the South Korea-U.S.-Japan naval exercises, Chinese and Russian warships have gathered in the East Sea. The Russian Navy is conducting exercises in the East Sea, and on the 21st, a Chinese intelligence-gathering ship passed through the Korea Strait into the East Sea. On the first day of President Putin’s visit to North Korea, the Russian Pacific Fleet began military exercises involving 40 warships in the East Sea and other areas. The exercises will continue until the 28th. Participating in the exercises are 40 warships, long-range anti-submarine aircraft such as the Tupolev (Tu)-142M3, Ilyushin (Il)-38, Ilyushin-38N, as well as about 20 naval aircraft and helicopters.

Marine Corps to Conduct Live-Fire Drills on Northwest Islands; Army to Conduct Cheonmu Rocket Launches

North Korea is also expected to react strongly. In April, North Korea harshly criticized the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises in statements issued by Kim Yo-jong, deputy director of the Workers’ Party, and the Foreign Ministry’s director of external publicity. They directly mentioned the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Theodore Roosevelt, as well as the strategic bomber B-52H. In January, North Korea conducted tests of an “underwater nuclear weapons system” in the East Sea in response to the South Korea-U.S.-Japan naval exercises.

At a public event for the Roosevelt on the 22nd, Christopher Alexander, commander of the U.S. 9th Carrier Strike Group (U.S. Navy Rear Admiral), stated, “The Freedom Edge exercise was planned months ago and is a routine and regular exercise,” adding, “It is not a response to North Korea-Russia solidarity.”

North Korea Expected to Protest... Possibility of Military Provocations

In addition, the South Korean military plans to begin full-scale live-fire drills starting this week. This comes about 20 days after the government suspended the effectiveness of the September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement on the 4th of this month, raising military tensions between the two Koreas to a peak. The Marine Corps will conduct live-fire exercises using K9 self-propelled howitzers around the northwest islands such as Baengnyeongdo and Yeonpyeongdo. If the Marine Corps proceeds with live-fire drills, it will be the first such exercise in 5 years and 9 months since the September 2018 military agreement was signed.

The September 19 Military Agreement is a supplementary agreement to the “September Pyongyang Joint Declaration” adopted during the summit between former President Moon Jae-in and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un on September 19, 2018. The military agreement prohibits artillery training in the buffer zones of the West Sea. Due to this agreement, the Marine Corps has relocated K9 self-propelled howitzers deployed on Yeonpyeongdo and Baengnyeongdo several hundred kilometers inland to conduct firing drills on the mainland.

Following the Marine Corps, the Army plans to conduct live-fire exercises with K-239 “Cheonmu” multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) high-explosive rounds in Boryeong, Chungnam Province. The military intends to continue frontline firing drills going forward. It is expected to use firing ranges within 5 km of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), such as the Story Firing Range in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, which is a buffer zone for hostile acts.