No Key Resolve in Pohang: a US-SK Joint Marine War Drill and Press Interview

*Below are arbitrary translations of parts of the two articles combined together. One is the SPARK report
and the other is the article by Park Suk-Boon, Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea (SPARK)
about the Pohang war drill.

* Except for the two whose sources were described below,
all the image sources are Kim Eun-Beom, from Incheon.

Pohang is called ‘the city of marine and POSCO (Pohang Iron and Steel Company)’,
Park Suk-Boon, SPARK staff, says.
As we arrived in the Pohang city, burning smoke smell from the POSCO factory
(You can see the smoke behind bridge, in photo) was so strong for people as to misunderstand it
as if their own car they were riding was burning.

The Police lining up in front of Camp Mujuk (red brick building in the photo), waited for
the participants of the press interview that was against the Key Resolve,
a US-SK annual joint war exercise, from March 8 to 18.

Despite all day rain and police interruption with illegal camera-recording of the protesters,
the 17 press interview participants firmly processed the press interview.
The press interview was on the urge to stop the SK-US marine joint combat exercise
in the mountain and urban areas. The SPARK says,
the urban exercise has been added in Pohang, for the first time, this year.

A SPARK staff talks about the need to be aware of the exercise and of military developments
that have to be stopped by the citizens in Pohang, which is known to be relatively conservative area.

The letters in the second say,
“Stop the US marine urban combat training aimed at occupation of Pyeongyang!”
The letters in the furthest right say,
“Stop the Key Resolve/ Foal Eagle war exercise for the invasion of North Korea!”


* Except for the two whose sources were described below,
all the image sources above are Kim Eun-Beom, from Incheon.

About 17 participants of the SPARK members from Seoul, Incheon, Busan, Daekoo [= Daegu], Andong, Korean Confederation of Trdae Unions, Pohang regional branch and Korean alliance of Progressive Movement, Daekoo/ Gyungbuk regional branch had the press interview against the US-SK joint marine exercise, part of the Key Resolve, in front of Camp Mujuk, Ohun-eup, City of Pohang, at 11am, on March 9, 2010. It was raining all day in Pohang.

The police standing in front of Camp Mujuk with awe-inspiring security, responded with the over and illegal measure, such as camera-recording of the press interview participants, therefore the participants urged and protested the police to stop the illegal recording.

Park Suk-Boon, a SPARK staff, writes about the US-SK joint marine war drill in Pohang, as part of the invasive Key resolve war exercises as below(partly translated of the original article, ‘The SK-US Marine Combat Trainings in the Mountain/ Urban Area and Camp Mujuk.’

“The mountain/urban area combat training that seems to be practiced in the areas of Camp Mujuk in Pohang, 1st Marine division’s ranger training field and urban area combat training field, is aimed for the SK-US joint force to progress the ground operation abilities that would be deployed in the inland after their landing in North Korea. It is clear that the mountain training is in preparation for the irregular battles (such as ranger war, guerrilla war) that are to be staged in mountainous and steep topography of the North Korea, while the urban combat training is for the occupation & rule of the North Korean main cities including Pyeongyang and in preparation for the civilian-military operations there. It is for the United States to apply for the lessons and combat techniques that she has learnt in Iraq and Afghanistan to the Korean peninsula.

When Walter Sharp, Commander of the USFK, after analyzing by saying that, “ Realizing that [we] can not win North Korea in traditional all-out war, we are accelerating the irregular war strategy,” announced that, “The SK-US alliance forces are developing the special measure for that”(September 29, 2009), his words proved the mentioned above as well. It is the part that shows the war scenario of the Combined Forces Command/ The United nations Command is being developed from the traditional all-out war, following the operation plan 5027, even to the military plan for occupation & rule of North Korea.

'The mountain training that was practiced in the marine ranger training field,
Sukjung MT., Pohang, as part of the Key Resolve, last year'
( source: SPARK, original source: Lee Si-Woo, Tongil News reporter)

Camp Mujuk has been newly given to the USFK, based on the Land Partnership Plan (LPP) that was concluded in 2002. It was according to the LPP that the detached unit of Pohang, Command of the Navy, USFK (CNEF) that has belonged to the 1st Marine Command, ROK, was being integrated into Camp Mujuk, as well. There line of many ROK marine education/ training fields, ranger training field near the camp Mujuk. The US marine is using the Pohang airport, according to the mutual memorandum on the request of joint use of the ROK airplane field (May 1, 1978), as well. The Global Security is introducing the Pohang airport as the site that USMC TCAIR WRM (US Marine Corps’ Tactical Air War Reserve Material) is stored.

'The Pohang Airport introduced in the Global Security. The Pohang is marked as the site
that the USMC TCAIR WRM (US Marine Corps’ Tactical Air War Reserve Material) is stored.'
(Source provided by the Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea. Original source is Global Security.

The United States is planning to strengthen the Camp Mujuk as the ‘enduring base’. It is for the routine combat training and break of the expeditionary force of the US 3rd marine, by connecting it to the ROK marine facilities. The expeditionary force of the US 3rd marine is infamous as the spearhead unit of the United States’ foreign invasion, joining into the invasive Iraq war.”