PYEONGCHANG, South Korea: South Korean and US Marines are conducting military exercises on ski slopes in sub-freezing temperatures, including shirtless hand-to-hand combat in the snow, prompting warnings of retaliation from North Korea over “madcap mid-winter” drills.
More than 300 Marines are taking part, simulating combat on the ski slopes of Pyeongchang, host of the 2018 Winter Olympics, amid speculation North Korea could be planning another missile test in defiance of U. N. resolutions.
“U. S. Marine Corps and ROK (Republic of Korea) Marine Corps partnered together at every level to build a camaraderie and friendship of the two countries’ militaries but also to increase our proficiency in the event where we have to fight a war together,” U. S. Captain Marcus Carlstrom told reporters.
The training began on Jan. 15 and ends on Feb. 3 in Pyeongchang, about 180 km (115 miles) east of Seoul.
About 28,500 U. S. troops are stationed in South Korea in joint defence against North Korea, which is under U. N. sanctions over a series of nuclear and missile tests and which regularly threatens to destroy the South and the United States.
