MADRID, 20 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
North Korea and the United States begin this Monday eleven consecutive days of joint exercises of “total war”, the most important in recent years, which could be answered with a possible North Korean ballistic test, according to South Korean military experts.
The fear stems from a recent announcement earlier this month on North Korean state television, which reported a strategic order adopted by the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, to put the military on a special alert marked by the start of ” practical preparations”.
The South Korean National Intelligence Service, a deputy told the official South Korean news agency Yonhap, has indicated that there is a high probability that these “preparations” imply a new ballistic test in full joint trials without even ruling out that the projectile be an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Despite this, Seoul and Washington have decided to go ahead with the “Ulchi Freedom Shield” exercises, specifically designed for a war against North Korea. Both armies thus plan more than 30 field drills and simulated campaigns of computer attacks with the participation of all military branches.
In addition to the South Korean and American participants, troops from nine member countries of the United Nations Command (UNC) will join the exercise: Australia, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand.
