S Korea, US practise occupying N Korea

S KOREA: South Korean troops practised a war scenario involving the occupation and stabilisation of North Korea during a joint military drill with the United States last month, a report said Tuesday.

The two allies, who staged a similar stabilisation exercise in 2010, upgraded it to strengthen the role of the South Korean army in the event of an “emergency situation in the North”, Dong-A Ilbo newspaper said.

It cited an unnamed senior government official, who said the manoeuvre -- called Wind of Freedom -- involved humanitarian assistance for North Koreans after occupying the communist state and restoring administrative services.

The exercise was part of the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian drill held from August 20-31 and involving tens of thousands of South Korean and US troops.

The North has habitually condemned the drill as a provocative prelude to war.

“The practice... for the first time let the South Korean military lead overall operations to potentially stabilise the North, with the back-up by the US,” said a military source quoted by Dong-A.

The two nations will stage a similar drill during an annual Key Resolve joint drill to be held early next year, the newspaper added. Seoul's defence ministry spokesman declined to comment, saying details of military drills were confidential.

AFP