S. Korea, U.S. holding live-fire drills near inter-Korean border

South Korea and the United States have been staging a combined live-fire exercise near the inter-Korean border, involving a rotational U.S. Stryker combat vehicle unit, the U.S. Army stationed in the South said Wednesday. The two-week exercise began July 22 at the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, about 30 kilometers south of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas and will run until Saturday, according to the 8th Army. The drills, involving the rotational unit, a South Korean tank platoon, and others, were staged with the aim of evaluating the rotational unit's company-level combat capabilities. The latest exercise marked the first one to take place as a combined exercise as they have previously been staged solely by the U.S. military. "This training enhances the rotational brigade's ability to adapt to the terrain and weather of the Korean Peninsula and incorporates Korean military equipment and tactics into small unit tactics," the 8th Army said in a release. The U.S. Army has rotated the Stryker combat vehicle unit every nine months in South Korea since 2022, when it transitioned from a rotating armored unit that operated M1 Abrams tanks and M2 Bradley fighting vehicles. Source: Yonhap News Agency