South Korea on Thursday mobilized hundreds of troops, tanks, helicopters and jet fighters for a massive military exercise aimed at sending North Korea a message of strength amid high tensions on the peninsula.
The firing drills set for later in the day near the Koreas' heavily armed land border signaled that South Korea is willing to risk further escalating tensions with North Korea, which shelled a southern island off the Koreas' western coast on Nov. 23, killing four South Koreans and stirring fears of war.
The attack was portrayed by Pyongyang as a retaliation for southern military exercises on Yeonpyeong island that day.