US, South Korea hold river-crossing drills

Troops from the United States and South Korea recently held drills across rivers this week. The river drills are part of the joint military exercises that have drawn the ire of North Korea.

American and South Korean troops held river-crossing drills Wednesday, where both forces practiced building floating bridges to transport tanks and other armored vehicles from one side to another. The river-related drills are part of a larger joint military exercise amidst tensions in the Korean peninsula.

Around 1,000 South Korean and US troops took part in Wednesday’s drills, with around 50 tanks and armored vehicles, KF-16 fighter jets, Apache and Cobra attack vehicles, and over 140 pieces of engineering equipment, according to the South Korean defense ministry.

South Korean attack helicopters launched flares, and the armored vehicles blew white smoke screens as main battle tanks, armored personnel carriers, and other military vehicles crossed the pontoon bridges over the Namhan River near Yeoju, which is south of the capital Seoul.

The drill also involved armored “attacking” forces of the South Korean military 11th mobile division that is taking part in the Hoguk 22-field exercises, crossing bridges built by South Korean and American engineering units.

US Army 11th Engineer Battalion company commander Captain Sean Kasprisin said the drills are “tough and realistic training,” as the exercises involved simulating a wet gap crossing, a military term for obstacles filled with water, such as a river.

“Developing river crossing capabilities is a key factor that can make or break wartime operations given the Korean peninsula’s geography with many rivers,” said South Korean 7th Engineer Brigade Lt. Col. Won Seong-Hoon.

On the same day of the drills, the South Korean military said North Korea fired 100 more artillery shells off the west coast. The firing took place hours after Pyongyang fired hundreds of shells into the sea off the east and west coasts as a warning to South Korea.

North Korea has repeatedly criticized the joint drills by South Korea and the US, calling the drills provocations while threatening to take countermeasures. Seoul responded, saying that its drills were a regular activity and defense-oriented.