On a shore southeast of Seoul, 2,600 South Korean marines and 600 U.S. marines participate in a landing operation. They are aiming at bringing military forces to shore from ships.

South Korea used 16 warships, 36 amphibious tanks and 27 helicopters for the operation. The U.S. used two warships and 29 helicopters.

[Lieut. Col. Lee Chang-ryong, S. Korean Marine Corps]:
“This landing operation will give momentum to strengthen the Marine Corps' value while maximizing the capacity of U.S. and South Korea's combined landing operations. Therefore we will have confidence in fulfilling our tasks 100 percent under any circumstances.”

The drill comes after North Korea announced yesterday had completed reprocessing spent fuel rods at its Yongbyon nuclear plant… and turned it into arms-grade plutonium.

The announcement from the reclusive North comes as it is hit with fresh U.N. sanctions to punish it for a nuclear test in May. It has softened its stance toward the outside world in recent months, and it indicated it could return to stalled international nuclear talks.