March 14, 2017 09:19
The U.S. unit that assassinated Osama bin Laden is among a huge contingent of special forces taking part in this year's joint exercises with South Korea.
They will join their South Korean counterparts in strike drills including "decapitation" operations aimed at removing the North Korean leadership in a war.
South Korea and the U.S. are putting on their biggest show of force so far against the North, with South Korean Air Force fighter jets staging precision strike drills since last Friday.
"More U.S. special forces than ever before are participating," a government source here said on Monday. "They'll carry out a wide range of exercises in the wake of a series of North Korean provocations as well as recent developments on the Korean Peninsula."
They include as the Army Rangers, the Delta Force, the DEVGRU, and the Green Berets. The DEVGRU was responsible for killing Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
In South Korea, a new brigade with about 1,000 troops under the Special Warfare Command will be officially launched around December.
The special forces troops of the two countries are expected to practice infiltrating the residences of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and other command posts in Pyongyang and removing leaders under cover of night using special mission aircraft like MC-130 cargo planes and the MH-47 helicopters.
They will also practice locating underground bunkers where North Korean military leaders are holed up and firing precision guided munitions like GBU-27 bunker busters at them.
Meanwhile, the South Korean Air Force is staging its own separate massive air combat exercise until March 17, a spokesman said Monday.
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