Central Seoul echoed to the tramp of marching boots and the rumble of tank engines as, for the first time in a decade, a military parade wound through the capital to mark Armed Forces Day.
While massed troop formations are a common spectacle in North Korea’s capital of Pyongyang, South Korea’s parade showed that the richer half of the divided peninsula has some catching up to do when it comes to military spectacle.
Observers noted the marching skills of South Korean soldiers were far inferior to the goose-stepping North Koreans. That may be because South Korean conscripts serve just 18 months, while their potential adversaries in the North’s armed forces serve for a decade. “The marching seemed more like a training exercise compared to the precision of North Korean soldiers,” said Chad O’Carroll, CEO of consultancy Korea Risk Group, who watched both the Seoul parade and a pre-parade drill at an airbase outside city limits.
Chun In-bum, a retired general who formerly led the South’s special forces, pointed to one reason North Koreans march better then South Koreans: Their service is longer, so they drill more. Mr. Tharp added that conscripts of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s lived a more spartan existence than the prosperous, middle-class youth of today’s South Korea.
Österreich Neuesten Nachrichten, Österreich Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
Damp and dreary weather continues in south-central PennsylvaniaHighs will barely reach the low 60s this afternoon
Weiterlesen »
Ophelia causes flooding in Coastal North Carolina as it heads northThe storm made landfall near Emerald Isle at 6:15 a.m. on Saturday with winds close to 70 mph, later subsiding to 40 mph.
Weiterlesen »
Coastal North Carolina hit by flooding as Tropical Storm Ophelia travels northThe storm also promises a wet and windy weekend all along the mid-Atlantic region through Sunday.
Weiterlesen »
North Korea calls South’s leader a ‘guy with a trash-like brain’In a speech at the U.N. General Assembly last week, President Yoon Suk Yeol said South Korea “will not sit idly by” if Pyongyang and Russia agree to weapons deals that would pose a threat.
Weiterlesen »
North Korean shooters snub South Koreans on podiumThree North Korean marksmen refused to join their South Korean rivals in a group photo of medal winners at the Hangzhou Asian Games after narrowly missing out on gold in a men's team shooting competition on Monday.
Weiterlesen »
South Korea Parades Troops, Weapons to Warn North Korea on NukesSouth Korea paraded thousands of troops and an array of weapons capable of striking North Korea through its capital as part of its biggest Armed Forces Day ceremony in 10 years Tuesday, as its president vowed to build a stronger military to thwart any provocation.
Weiterlesen »