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By Isabel van Brugen
News Reporter
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The U.S. military on Monday deployed robotic dogs—or robodogs—in joint drills with South Korean forces, simulating assaults on North Korea's "secret" underground tunnel networks, Seoul announced.
The deployment in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, is part of "Freedom Shield," an annual joint military exercise held by the United States and South Korea. The nations are rehearsing realistic combat operations on countering North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's hidden military installations and key subterranean facilities. This is according to Korea JoongAng Daily, the English edition of the South Korean national daily newspaper JoongAng Ilbo.
Why It Matters
The drills serve as a signal to North Korea that its underground facilities are known to its adversaries and are under close watch.
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What To Know
The South Korean Army's Ground Operations Command said Monday that military officials estimate North Korea has a network of thousands of tunnels beneath Pyongyang and key strategic locations; these are likely intended to be used by leader Kim and other top leaders as "secret escape routes," according to the publication.
Pyongyang is also reported to have underground storage for weapons of mass destruction, and urban underground infrastructure, such as subways.
Some 370 troops from Seoul and Washington are taking part in the drills, which kick-started Monday and began with the launch of reconnaissance drones.
Using intelligence gathered by the drones, South Korean mechanized units conducted a ground assault to eliminate enemy positions outside the tunnels. They also secured all entry points, blocked exits, and disabled essential utilities—including water, ventilation, and electricity—effectively trapping enemy forces inside the underground facilities.
The militaries deployed robodogs, mine-clearing robots, and "state-of-the-art military technology" in the exercise on Monday, the outlet reported.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that these multi-domain training exercises "strengthens interoperability, reinforce the alliance's combined defense posture and increase combat readiness and lethality."
What People Are Saying
Lieutenant Colonel Hwang Hyeon-jo, commander of the Special Maneuvers Support Brigade's Engineer Battalion, said: "It was an invaluable opportunity for South Korean and U.S. troops being in one team and sharing underground combat strategies. We were able to accumulate diverse operational experiences and identify areas for improvement in underground warfare."
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement: "Freedom Shield 25 underscores the enduring military partnership between [South Korea] and the U.S. … It reinforces the role of the alliance as the linchpin for regional peace and security, reaffirming the ironclad commitment between the United States and the Republic of Korea to defend their homelands."
What Happens Next
Freedom Shield is scheduled to end on March 21, according to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
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