15 people were injured today in Pocheon, south Korea, during U.S.-South Korea (ROK) military drills, when fighter jets dropped eight bombs onto the city of 144,000 people. Pocheon is located approximately 50km northeast of Seoul, south of the 38th Parallel drawn by the U.S. to divide Korea.
This military drill that injured 15 people with 8 bombs from fighter jets was a drill for another drill that is taking place for two weeks of military drills during Freedom Shield. Freedom Shield is 10 days of relentless land, air, and sea military drills with the U.S. and ROK.
Every military “exercise” is called an “exercise” by the military, unless it is actual war. But in essence, there’s nothing different. There’s no difference between the drill and war, especially because Korea is technically still at war. There is really no such thing as a military “exercise” when you’re still at war. It is just called war.
During wartime, there are no “accidents,” these are simply considered “wartime casualties,” a large part of war itself.
Freedom Shield begins on March 10th, in a time when South Korea does not even have a president right now.
I have written in the past about RIMPAC, the largest international maritime military exercise in the world that takes place in the Pacific region around Hawai’i. The damage to land, air, and sea is catastrophic to all beings. This also escalates war even further.
Freedom Shields have been happening every year in conjunction with their summer version of Ulchi Freedom Shield. These naturally cause provocation and alarm for north Korea (DPRK), since Korea is still at war. The U.S. and ROK are running these exercises during wartime. They’re dropping bombs on their own people in their own town right by the 38th Parallel, conducting these escalated “exercises” for 10 days when they are firing, land, sea and air, weapons and military gear continuously and repeatedly.
The impacts of this are detrimental for every party and country directly and indirectly involved. Those in the region who are not directly involved profoundly experience the geopolitical and environmental impacts. In addition, it is the citizens of Korea that are being physically and materially harmed.
That Freedom Shield is still moving forward without a south Korean president in place, and even with the injuries from the fighter jet bombs in Pocheon, expose who holds the power.
There is no such thing as a military “exercise” during a time of war. It is just war. And The United States has everything to gain from war and militarism globally. The U.S. has 70 military bases in the ROK alone. Military that benefits capitalist colonial governments as well as millionaires and billionaires. Those that are the most harmed are the Korean people, the very ones these “exercises” are claiming to protect. These “exercises” also actively damage the relationship between northern and southern Korea. In my
There’s no such thing as a military exercise. It is always war.
U.S. out of Korea now, U.S. out of everywhere now.
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