“The Republic of Korea (official name of South Korea) and the United States have decided conduct your combined command post training (CCPT) for the first half of 2022 for 9 days from April 18,” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.
The training, which is based on computer simulations, starts just a day after Pyongyang announced that it has tested a new projectile designed to equip tactical nuclear weapons.
Added to this test are another 12 carried out this year (a record number), including the an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the first of its kind since 2017.
In apparent response to that test, for the first time in five yearss Washington decided to send one of its aircraft carriers to carry out maneuvers in the vicinity of the peninsula.
In turn, the regime is expected to commemorate the founding of its army on April 25 with a military parade in which it could unveil new capabilitieswhile the satellites continue to detect activity that indicates that Pyongyang is preparing its first nuclear test in just over four years.
Against this background, some analysts considered that the CCPT that starts today could also involve the deployment of assets on the ground face showing military muscle.
But the JCS has specified that the CCPT “is a defensive command post exercise employing simulations by computer and will not include actual training maneuvers with soldiers.
Pyongyang has typically condemned these exercises, which seek to put operational procedures in case of war (including repelling an invasion and fighting back), claiming that they are rehearsing to invade their territory.
Faced with a scenario that is increasingly reminiscent of the peaks of tension reached in 2017, when Pyongyang and Washington threatened each other with armed attacksthe US envoy for nuclear negotiations, Sung Kim, arrived in Seoul today for a five-day trip.
Kim will meet with South Korean authorities to discuss the situation at a time when North Korea remains completely isolated from the outside by the pandemic and without showing the will to resume a dialogue blocked since 2019.