South Korea to hold exercise on disputed islands
SEOUL — Amid rising tensions with Japan, South Korea will hold an exercise this weekend aimed at protecting a bitterly contested island territory from invasion — by both foreign militaries and protesters.
The exercise, to be held at the Dokdo islets Friday through Monday, has been scaled down and will include fewer than 1,000 troops, a spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, though both he and other military officials declined to confirm the exact number of participants.
A key aim is training South Korean maritime police to respond to a possible invasion of the two rocky islands by Japanese demonstrators, another JCS spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said South Korea believes a military response to a civilian landing would send the message that Dokdo is a “troubled area” and could further Japanese efforts to take the case before an international court.
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