South Korea staged on Thursday what it said was its largest-ever military drills amid increasing tensions with the North.
The drills started at 2 p.m. [05:00 GMT] and lasted about 40 minutes, Seoul said.
Hundreds of military personnel and more than 100 types of weapons, including tanks, anti-tank missiles, helicopters and fighter jets, took part, some 30 kilometers from the heavily fortified land border.
Tensions have been high since Pyongyang shelled the South's Yeonpyeong Island on November 23, killing four people.
South Korean military conducted 90-minute live-firing exercises on the island earlier on Monday. The drills went ahead despite threats of retaliation from Pyongyang.
On Wednesday, Seoul started three-day military exercises in the Sea of Japan some 100 km south of the disputed border with North Korea. At least six naval ships and antisubmarine helicopters took part in the drills, which Japan's Yonhap news agency said were aimed at demonstrating that the South Korean military is ready for "any surprise attacks from North Korea."
The North does not recognize the sea border between the two countries, known as the Northern Limit Line, and claims the waters around Yeonpyeong as its territory.
MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti)
