LOC10:41
07:41 GMT
TOKYO, Aug 28 (KUNA) -- South Korea and the US wrapped up their joint military exercise Thursday, a day earlier than scheduled, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency reported.
The allies' Combined Forces Command (CFC) in Seoul announced that it successfully completed its annual computer-assisted simulation drill. "This exercise further strengthened our combined defense and enhanced the readiness of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the US Combined Forces and the United Nations sending states," General Curtis M. Scaparrotti, chief of the CFC, said in a press release.
The training, he added, was based on "realistic scenarios" and ensured the allies are fully prepared to defend South Korea in case of an emergency situation. South Korea and the US began the drill on Aug. 18, snubbing Pyongyang's fierce protest laden with war threats.
More than 30,000 US soldiers and 50,000 Korean troops took part in this year's exercise. 10 other nations -- Australia, Britain, Canada, Columbia, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway -- participated in it as well. All of them sent troops to the 1950-53 Korean War to help the South defend itself against the invading North. The war ended in a truce, not a formal peace treaty, leaving the peninsula technically in a state of war. The United Nations Command is still in operation to oversee the implementation of the 1953 Armistice Agreement.
A group of Swiss and Swedish soldiers belonging to the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission monitored the exercise to ensure that it was in compliance with the Armistice Agreement, the CFC said. (end)
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