The US Army has held a training session in South Korea aimed at enhancing capabilities to operate effectively in a nuclear environment for the first time, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Wednesday.The two-day course, held at South Korea's Strategic Command in Seoul between April 15-16, was seen as aimed at bolstering the allies' joint deterrence against North Korea's nuclear threats, Yonhap News Agency reported.The training, led by the US Army Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Agency (USANCA) tailored for the South Korean military, involved 13 personnel from South Korea, including six Strategic Command staff members.’This provision of Nuclear Weapon Effects Course – Korea highlights the vital role ROK forces play in advancing conventional-nuclear integration within the ROK-US Alliance,’ the USFK said in a release, cited by Yonhap.’The training content is also directly applicable to Alliance tabletop exercises and wargames focused on conventional-nuclear integration, and enhancing the combined joint force's strategic understanding,’ it said.In August last year, the allies concluded their first-ever table-top exercise, ‘Iron Mace 24,’ on integrating nuclear and conventional capabilities.South Korea and the United States have been stepping up efforts to counter North Korea's evolving nuclear threats. In annual bilateral defense talks held in October last year, the allies agreed to incorporate ‘realistic’ scenarios, including a North Korean nuclear attack, in their future combined military exercises.
