Sub-zero soldiers: Bare-chested U.S. marines pushed to the limit on brutal training exercise at South Korean ski resort




Around 400 marines from the United States and South Korea braved bitterly cold weather for a joint training exercise to test their limits in extreme conditions.

Soldiers from the south-east Asian country joined forces with their counterparts from Kaneho Bay, Hawaii, at a ski resort in Pyeongchang, east of Seoul.

They walked through icy water, did push-ups and threw snow on their bodies as they learned how to adapt to hostile climates.



The exercises, which run from February 4 to February 22, also involve firearms training, military skiing, ice diving and alpine climbing as well as night infiltration and reconnaissance missions.

Hard as nails: Half-naked South Korean Marines and their U.S. counterparts run across the snow during a training exercise in Pyeongchang, east of Seoul

Who says it's cold? The soldiers from the south-east Asian country and their fellow marines from Kaneho Bay, Hawaii, dive in the snow as if they were on a beach Endurance test: The marines walked through icy water, did push-ups and threw snow on one another (above) to test their limits in extreme conditions

Lt Col Lee Keun-soo told the Yonhap News Agency: 'Through this training session, Marine Corps of South Korea and the U.S. will learn how to adapt various combat environments, including extreme cold and snow.'

The exercises come amid rising tensions in the region after North Korea vowed to conduct more rocket and nuclear tests in response to a U.N. censure for its launch of a long-range missile launch in December.

Earlier this week, it promised 'stronger' but unspecified actions in addition to the test.

The U.S. is also conducting fighter jet drills with two other key allies in the combat phase of annual exercises that have gained importance as the region responds to the rise of China and other potential threats.



Pushed to the extreme: The exercises, which run from February 4 to February 22, also involve firearms training, military skiing and alpine climbing

Growing tensions: The exercises come after North Korea vowed to conduct more rocket and nuclear tests in response to UN sanctions

Skiing is believing: The exercises are being held at a ski resort in Pyeongchang, which has just finished hosting the 11th Special Olympics World Winter Games

In their sights: The drills have been designed to prepare for potential attacks by North Korea, which has stepped up its war rhetoric in recent days

The Cope North drills - which could soon swell in participants - are aimed at preparing air forces of the U.S., Japan and Australia to fight together if a military crisis erupts.

They also send a vivid reminder to Beijing that America's regional alliances are strong, though officers leading the maneuvers say they are not looking to bait the Chinese military.

'The training is not against a specific country, like China,' Japan Air Self-Defense Force Lt Gen Masayuki Hironaka said. 'However, I think (the fact) that our alliance with the U.S. and Australia is healthy is a strong message.'

The three allies began flying sorties together earlier in the week around the U.S. territory of Guam in a humanitarian phase of the exercises, dropping emergency assistance in packages that wafted down under parachutes to jungle airfields.

Braving the cold: Soldiers on skies and in winter camouflage slide down a hill during a winter training exercise in Pyeongchang, some 200 km east of Seoul, South Korea

For all eventualities: Lt Col Lee Keun-soo said the marines were learning how to adapt to various combat environments, including extreme cold and snow

Hard terrain: South Korean Marines hold their guns on a snow-covered hill during their joint military winter exercise with U.S. counterparts from Hawaii Getting a lay of the land: A South Korean marine adjusts his gun on a snow-covered hill during their joint military winter exercise with U.S. counterparts



Fighter jets were joined today by bombers, transport planes and tankers that refuel the fighters in midair. For the first time, Japanese tankers were joining the drills.

U.S. officials said they believe more allies, particularly New Zealand and the Philippines, will join the exercises soon.

Maneuvers like Cope North are a key element of Washington's evolving strategy in the Pacific as the U.S. shifts its emphasis away from Afghanistan and fighting ground wars.



It is now placing more attention on Asia and the possibility of an air or sea confrontation with the rapidly modernizing Chinese military, which has been briskly improving its forces and using its growing muscle to back up territorial claims that have raised regional tensions.

Flexible force: The drills also involve ice diving and alpine climbing as well as night infiltration and reconnaissance missions





In the line of fire: The U.S. is also conducting fighter jet drills with two other key allies in the combat phase of annual exercises in the region

Threat to world peace? North Korea has vowed to conduct more rocket and nuclear tests in response to a U.N. censure for its launch of a missile launch in December



