The land drill, involving three dozen mobile artillery guns, six fighter jets, multiple launch rocket systems and 800 troops, the largest number of personnel in a single peace-time exercise, will take place on Thursday and is likely irritate the North.
An artillery battalion is not that large, in the big picture. It is just relative to what the South Koreans usually field for live-fire exercises.
The article says it is a political decision. Sure, with the South Koreans upset at their government for a couple dozen dead sailor, Marines, and civilians this year at the hands of the North Koreans, the leaders of South Korea need to reassure the people that they are ready to protect them.
But it also helps to demonstrate that South Korea will defend their capital city even if the North Koreans escalate their provocations to the main DMZ front for shock value.
And if the North Koreans truly understand that their military is inferior to South Korea's and that even China won't back them in a war, as Strategypage writes, then Pyongyang will let this slide with no action and maybe no comment at all that will only highlight their lack of a military response. Now that would be huge, in the scheme of things.
