The military on Monday launched a drill aimed at practicing responses to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. 

The Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as the Marine Corps, will participate in various outdoor exercises for 12 days through next Friday. 

The Hoguk exercise, an annual drill staged in the second half of the year, is focused on maintaining military readiness and enhancing joint operation capabilities. 

The latest edition particularly assumes various threats from the North, including nuclear weapons and missiles, and will mobilize maneuvering training sessions in kind. 

The military, meanwhile, said it has strengthened its surveillance of the North, given that the regime may attempt additional provocations on the pretext of the latest South Korean drill.