Pocheon: South Korea staged an integrated military firepower exercise Thursday, showcasing advanced homegrown assets, including suicide drones and robots, and demonstrating its ground and air combat capabilities. A warning broadcast echoed around a mountainous firing range in the border county of Pocheon that South Korea has come under a surprise attack by an enemy, signaling the launch of a response operation by the South Korean military in the simulated live-fire exercise.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Joint Live-Fire Exercise was held at the Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, just 25 kilometers south of the inter-Korean border. Thursday's event was the last of three drills open to the public, with two similar drills held last week, according to the Ministry of Defense. The first phase of the main exercise began under a simulated attack scenario by an enemy, with troops utilizing surveillance drones and satellite assets to collect data on the simulated target.

After a five-second countdown, neatly lined K9A1 self-propelled howitzers and K2 tanks fired away at their targets ahead, making massive noise as white smoke billowed from their artillery barrels. After successfully pushing back the opponents, the troops turned to the second phase of the drills, focused on striking the enemy's mechanized forces using manned-unmanned teaming combat systems.

A number of surveillance drones scattered across the clear blue sky, as they gathered and shared relevant data and footage on enemy targets with the artificial intelligence (AI)-driven command and control center in real time. "The commander's insight is combined with ultrahigh AI analysis to identify and recommend the most decisive strike points at the most fatal moment," an official broadcasting the event said.

Breezing through the dusty terrain, multi-purpose unmanned vehicles, accompanied by a multi-legged robot, pushed ahead to conduct preliminary survey of dangerous terrain inaccessible by humans.