South Korean and American troops practised storming North Korea’s network of strategic and fortified underground tunnels with four-legged robot dogs and drones during military drills to train for potential combat with Kim Jong Un’s military.
Photos shared by the South Korean army of the drills showed the robot dogs navigating and searching a subterranean facility and detonating remote-controlled explosives to seal the tunnel shut.
The drill was part of the ongoing annual Freedom Shield exercises and involved some 370 US and South Korean troops. They were practising a war scenario with North Korea, which is believed to have a vast network of fortified tunnels stretching from key command centres to the border with the South.
The two armies practised blasting and sealing off tunnels to trap and kill occupants and fighting their way inside if needed, in Paju, Gyeonggi province, close to the border with North Korea.
South Korea’s Dronebot Combat Group used reconnaissance drones to detect tunnel openings while its mechanised military forces removed or neutralised any enemy forces or obstacles present on the surface near the tunnel entrances.
This was followed by the Special Mobility Support Brigade sending walking robot dogs to seal off the tunnel using explosives and to destroy the ventilation, water, and power supply apparatus.
“It was an invaluable opportunity for South Korean and US troops to be in one team and share underground combat strategies,” Lt Col Hwang Hyeon Jo, commanding the Engineer Battalion of the Special Maneuvers Support Brigade, a dedicated underground warfare force, told Korea JoongAng Daily. “We were able to accumulate diverse operational experiences and identify areas for improvement in underground warfare.”
North Korea’s tunnels are suspected to be connected to the offices and residences of Mr Kim and his top officials, providing possible escape routes during war, South Korea’s Army Ground Operations Command said on Monday.
The tunnels were also believed to house nuclear and chemical weapons warheads near the border with South Korea, ready to be deployed in the event of war, the military said.
North Korea began digging tunnels following the Korean War, during which the US military relentlessly bombed 22 of the country’s major cities, killing an estimated 282,000 people.
Lt Col Jang Yun Seong, public affairs officer of the 25th Infantry Division, said last week that the drills involving “uncrewed systems” would change the way they operated in high-risk zones.
“By deploying robots alongside personnel, we aim to minimise human casualties while gathering critical intelligence in real time,” he said. “The integration of uncrewed systems is fundamentally changing how we approach high-risk operations.”
The 11-day Freedom Shield exercises, scheduled to conclude on Thursday, began on a disastrous note when South Korean military jets accidentally bombed a residential area, destroying buildings and injuring dozens of people.
The exercises have continued without incident since then and the media was given rare access to the drills as US and South Korean troops targeted weapons of mass destruction at a remote training site in the mountains.
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