Dokdo Islands Dispute: South Korea conducts military exercises in response to Japan’s claims

Officers of South Korea They have carried out a series of military maneuvers this Friday with the aim of “Guaranteed Security” of Dokto Islands Then also called Takeshima Japan Despite its dispute with South Korean officials, it considers them under its sovereignty and should include them in its national security strategy.

As a result, the South Korean Navy and Coast Guard are engaged in continuous training in the area “Increase the country’s combat readiness for the possible incursion of foreign forces into the islands in question”As reported by the news agency Yonhap.

South Korean forces have conducted similar maneuvers since the 1980s and, since 2003, have conducted them usually twice a year. The disputed islands lie between Japan and South Korea After World War II they came under South Korean jurisdiction.

However, Japan has mentioned this situation on several occasions “Unlawful Occupancy” The islands he considers part of his Shimane province.

He therefore proposed to present the matter to Seoul International Court of Justice (ICJ)South Korea denies that there is no such dispute and that the islands are South Korean territory.

After the announcement of the new Japanese national security strategy, South Korea’s foreign ministry urged the Japanese government to “realize it once and for all.” Repeating lies about Dokto will not help our future relationships.

Meanwhile, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense announced on Wednesday that South Korea and the United States will expand the scale and variety of their military exercises. Recreate “realistic” scenarios in the first half of 2023 Before proceeding with North Korean weapons programs.

In the first six months of the next year, the partners a Twenty Exercises, including annual maneuvers such as Songyong, as explained Wednesday at a meeting with top military commanders led by Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup. The plan suggests the allies could resume the suspended Foal Eagle exercises in 2019 to try to improve the atmosphere for full disarmament talks with the North Korean regime.

The meeting also discussed the establishment in January of a new dedicated unit of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to directly respond to the Kim Jong-un regime’s WMD tests and improve the military’s operational capabilities.

(with information from EuropaPress and EFE)

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