South Korea and the United States started annual joint military exercises on Monday, South Korean media have reported citing the Combined Forces Command (CFC).

North Korea's attitude toward the drills has been low-key even though the country strongly condemned them in the past, the Yonhap news agency reported Sunday.

The computer-aided drills, entitled Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG), will mobilize about 50,000 South Korean troops and some 30,000 US servicemen and will last for 12 days, the agency reported.

The role of the ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC) is to deter, or defeat, outside aggression against the Republic of Korea. The command was established in 1978.

The drills are designed to check the troops’ ability to ensure security on the Korean Peninsula and maintain the two allies’ joint defense capacity.

South and North Korea agreed Wednesday to reopen their joint industrial park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong. The complex had been shut down in April.

The two Koreas technically remain “at war” since no peace treaty was signed when the Korean War ended in 1953. Some 28,500 American soldiers are stationed in South Korea.

Source: Agencies; Photo: AP