Tensions Rise Amid , US-South Korea , Military Drills.<br />'Newsweek' reports that North Korea has issued <br />a clear warning to the United States and South <br />Korea in response to annual joint military exercises. .<br />'Newsweek' reports that North Korea has issued <br />a clear warning to the United States and South <br />Korea in response to annual joint military exercises. .<br />On March 4, the U.S. and South Korea began Freedom <br />Shield, prompting North Korea to carry out large-scale <br />artillery drills along the country's western coast.<br />On March 4, the U.S. and South Korea began Freedom <br />Shield, prompting North Korea to carry out large-scale <br />artillery drills along the country's western coast.<br />The large-scale war drills staged <br />by the world's biggest nuclear weapons <br />state ... in the Korean Peninsula, where <br />a nuclear war may be ignited even with <br />a spark, can never be called 'defensive.', Korean Central News Agency, via 'Newsweek'.<br />North Korea's long-range artillery display <br />is meant to reinforce perception of the <br />nation's formidable military capabilities. .<br />The North Korean provocations that <br />Kim Jong Un enjoys the most, and the <br />South Korean military is most nervous <br />about, are ballistic-missile and long-<br />range-multiple-rocket-launcher fire. , Kim Minseok, research fellow at the <br />Korea Defense and Security Forum, via 'Newsweek'.<br />However, North Korea used 122 mm, <br />130 mm, 155 mm, [and] 220 mm field <br />artillery and multiple rocket launchers <br />in this drill—no large 400-plus mm <br />multiple rocket launchers and<br />short-range ballistic missiles. , Kim Minseok, research fellow at the <br />Korea Defense and Security Forum, via 'Newsweek'.<br />South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff are closely <br />monitoring North Korea's military activity amid <br />the ongoing Freedom Shield joint military exercises.<br />Reuters reports that this year's exercises <br />involve twice the number of troops <br />than previous iterations.<br />North Korea's artillery fire drills are <br />demonstrations to show off their <br />numbers, not tactical exercises. <br />Firing hundreds of field artillery <br />pieces at once in a dense area <br />only measures that they were fired. , Kim Minseok, research fellow at the <br />Korea Defense and Security Forum, via 'Newsweek'.<br />Modern artillery combat is more <br />about firing accurately from <br />a dispersed position, like the <br />'shoot and scoot' artillery tactic. , Kim Minseok, research fellow at the <br />Korea Defense and Security Forum, via 'Newsweek'
