(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Hyo-jeong = The Marine Corps Command and the Northwestern Island Defense Command (Western Command) announced on the 22nd that they are conducting joint island defense training in the second half of 2026 in the area of the Northwestern Islands, including Baengnyeong Island and Yeonpyeong Island, from the 19th to the 23rd as part of national defense training.
The joint island defense training is an annual exercise that maintains defense capabilities and posture for the Northwestern Islands by verifying integrated response capabilities with the participation of joint forces of support operators led by the Western Command commanded by the Marine Corps Commander.
The Marine Corps, the Western Command, the Land Command, the Naval Command, the Air Force, and airlines will participate in this exercise, and approximately 6,000 troops, ships, aircraft, and drones will participate.
Training began with reinforcements, including the Marine Corps' rapid task force, deployed to the northwest islands to respond to complex provocations such as enemy firepower, high-speed aircraft, cruise missiles, and suicide drones. The reinforcement force carried out joint firepower response, integrated air defense training, target land defense training, anti-terrorism response training, and resident evacuation training support.
Reflecting changes in modern warfare and battlefield analysis, outdoor maneuver training (FTX) and command post training (CPX) for installation of anti-drone protection, resupply of repair parts using transport drones and unmanned surface vehicles, and electromagnetic warfare training will also be conducted during this training.
Do Il-seon, the battalion commander (Lieutenant Colonel) of the Yeonpyeong unit, emphasized, “We will fulfill our mission of ‘absolute defense of the Northwestern Islands’ under any circumstances with a tight and firm operational readiness posture.”
On the 20th and 22nd of this month, as part of national defense training, the Air Force's 'Aerial Antibody Infiltration Response Training' was conducted to master joint air defense operation procedures in response to 'mixed shooting' threats such as enemy manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.
In a situation where a large number of unknown tracks approach our airspace simultaneously, the Air Force responds by dispatching fighter jets to tracks identified as enemy aircraft, and uses surface-to-air guided weapons such as Cheongung and the Army and Navy's air defense capabilities to intercept enemy airborne aircraft.
About 40 air force aircraft, including F-15K, KF-16, FA-50, and F-5 fighters and KA-1 air control attack aircraft, air defense weapon systems such as the Army's Cheonma and Shingung, and Navy destroyers and frigates participated.
Meanwhile, in the Namhan River area in Yeoju-si, Gyeonggi-do, the Army's 7th Mobile Corps conducted the 'ROK-U.S. Combined Arms Joint Crossing Training' as part of a bilateral training of mechanized units in connection with national defense training.
580 soldiers from the 7th Engineer Brigade under the Army's 7th Mobile Corps, 11th Mobile Division, 8th Mobile Division, 2nd US Division, and 814th Multi-Purpose Bridge Company of the ROK-US Combined Division participated in this training.
A large amount of tracked equipment and mechanized power, including the K2 tank and K21 infantry fighting vehicle, as well as 130 pieces of engineering equipment, including 10 Korean-type self-propelled crossing equipment Suryong, the Ribbon pontoon bridge (RBS) and the U.S. military's improved tactical pontoon bridge (IRB), were also deployed.
In this exercise, South Korean and U.S. soldiers completed a 280m long joint pontoon bridge across the Namhan River by cross-linking the Suryong, Ribbon pontoon bridge, and an improved tactical pontoon bridge.
Kim Gyu-ha (General), Chief of Staff of the Army, visited the training site with the commanders of the 2nd US Division and the ROK-US Combined Division to check the procedures for conducting the ROK-US joint crossing operation and the results of combat experiments, and encouraged the soldiers of both Korea and the US.
