South Korea’s top general visited western border units Monday to check their readiness against North Korean military threats, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, ahead of a major combined exercise with the United States next week.

JCS Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum inspected a guard post of the 1st Infantry Division inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) amid concerns of provocative acts by the North Korean military in protest against the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise that starts next Monday.

During the visit to the western front-line unit, Kim said North Korea is likely to conduct provocations ahead of the drills and called on troops to “immediately punish” the enemy if they were to take place inside the DMZ, the JCS said.

Kim also inspected an air defense unit near the western border and instructed troops to shoot down all enemy drones in case of such provocations, it added.

The annual UFS, based on an all-out war scenario, will feature various contingency drills, such as the computer simulation-based command post exercise, concurrent field training and Ulchi civil defense drills.

The North has long accused the allies’ military drills of being rehearsals for an invasion against it.

Source: Yonhap News Agency