The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Tuesday that it has increased air defense exercises in South Korea, after speculations that North Korea had used an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system in its recent tests.
USFK said that its 35th air defense artillery brigade has recently increased the intensity of its certification exercise as a demonstration of the forces’ capabilities and commitment to defend South Korea against any threat or adversary.
It noted that the unit validated their wartime mission requirements “by moving to a remote location, occupying its wartime defensive position, emplacing the patriot missile system, and executing air and missile defense operations under a simulated combat scenario.”
“While this type of training is routinely conducted by U.S. Patriot batteries across [South Korea], its increased intensity of its certification underscores the seriousness USFK takes against the DPRK’s recent missile launch behavior,” USFK stated.
“The purpose of these tests, which did not demonstrate ICBM range, was likely to evaluate this new system before conducting a test at full range in the future, potentially disguised as a space launch,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart Suh Wook affirmed their commitment “to strengthening the alliance’s deterrence posture by leveraging all available alliance capabilities, including cyber and space capabilities,” and to update operation plans.
The two defense officials said that the Korean peninsula is one of the places on the globe where conflict could start with little notice, and the forces in South Korea—including 28,000 Americans—must be ready to “fight tonight.”