South Korea's military began its annual Hoguk defense exercise to improve its response capabilities to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, which are now in a tense situation.
The exercise is a series of South Korea's latest military training programs as a result of cooperation with the United States and Japan.
After North Korea conducted a weapons test, South Korea fired short-range ballistic missiles including hundreds of artillery fire near the border.
The row, Pyongyang expressed its anger and called South Korea and its military activities a provocation although Seoul insists that the exercises are defense-oriented.
Therefore, South Korea together with US forces will increase the military's ability to carry out operations during the Hoguk exercise, commented the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He added that his forces will conduct operations day and night in order to counter North Korea's nuclear, missile and various threats.
North Korea has drawn the ire of South Korea in the past week following its actions of firing missiles, firing 500 artillery shells and flying numerous warplanes near the sea border.
The streak saw Seoul impose its first unilateral sanctions on Pyongyang and call the move a violation of a 2018 bilateral military pact.
South Korean parliamentarians have stated that North Korea is preparing for its first nuclear test since 2017 with the Chinese Communist Party congress.
