S.Korea, U.S. Resume Massive Military Drills

South Korea and the U.S. are conducting combined military drills that consist of field maneuvers, command post exercises and civil defense drills from Monday until Sept. 1.

The exercise, dubbed "Ulchi Freedom Shield," includes training to dispose of weapons of mass destruction. Preliminary drills were already conducted last week.

The first phase is training to drive back an attack from North Korea while defending the capital region. The second phase includes a simulated counterattack pushing forward across the military demarcation line.

Former chiefs of the U.S. Forces Korea welcomed the resumption of the drills. According to Voice of America, ex-USFK chief Robert Abrams, said, "We cannot overemphasize the importance of the training in the second half of this year, which is a light bulb training."

His predecessor Walter Sharp said, "Exercises of all types... and echelons... are necessary" for South Korea and the U.S. "We will see improved readiness, a stronger deterrence against [North Korean] provocations and a better preparedness to defend South Korea if necessary," he added.

Civil defense drills are also being held from Monday to Thursday with some 480,000 officials from about 4,000 agencies.