RUSSIAN marines will conduct live fire drills and ground combat training in a region bordering North Korea.

Russian Defense Ministry said its drills in Kamchatka and Primorye, in the far-east of the country, follow exercises conducted last week which saw marines landing on the coastline.

It said around 1000 naval infantry from Russia’s Pacific Ocean Fleet will master land warfare vehicles during the drills.

Russia shares a 17km border with North Korea, not far from the training area.

In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said marines will practise driving armoured personnel carriers.

Russian marines sent to the two training ranges in Primorye have already begun practising ground combat with handheld arms.

One of these ranges, Bamburovo, is around 110kms from the North Korean border.

It isn’t the first time Russia has staged military training in the region.

Exercises were also conducted by the Russian Pacific Fleet’s naval infantry unit at the Bamburovo firing range last February.

The announcement of the most recent drills comes as the US and South Korea began their joint Vigilant Ace exercises involving more than 230 warplanes and 12,000 soldiers.

It also comes less than a week after North Korea launched a missile it claimed was capable of reaching the US mainland, raising new fears about the country’s nuclear arsenal.

The test, North Korea’s 20th missile, sent tensions soaring across the Korean Peninsula with US President Donald Trump promising to “take care of it”.

It followed a 74-day pause in testing which saw tensions spike once again.

South Korea and Russia have both appealed for calm while condemning the North’s tests.

Russia has also warned escalating tensions could lead to a devastating conflict, with President Vladimir Putin weeks ago warning it must be avoided at all costs.

However Moscow’s top security adviser Nikolai Patrushev said Russia was preparing to defend itself in case conflict escalated near its border, Newsweek reported.

“We find ourselves practically on the border with them,” Mr Patrushev said last week.

“If there are military actions, and you know that some countries have not ruled them out, then there can be many various problems caused, including for us as well.”

He added: “This will not be something unanticipated by us.”

SHOW OF FORCE

Russia’s live fire exercise comes as hundreds of aircraft, including two dozen stealth jets, began training as part of a joint South Korea combined air force exercise.

The five-day drill began yesterday and is meant to improve the allies’ wartime capabilities and preparedness, according to South Korea’s defence ministry.

The US Seventh Air Force sent major strategic military assets, including an unusually large number of the latest generations of stealth fighter jets, for the annual training in the Korean Peninsula.

They include six F-22 and 18 F-35 stealth fighter jets.

Around 12,000 US military personnel are participating in the drill along with 230 aircraft.

The Seventh Air Force said in a statement the training, which is held each year in the northern hemisphere’s late autumn, is not in response to any incident or provocation.

NOT HAPPY KIM

North Korea’s state media said the drill pushed the Korean Peninsula “to the brink of nuclear war”.

The secretive regime regards such drills as preparation for invasion and a serious provocation.

In a statement before the drills began, Pyongyang said it will “seriously consider” countermeasures against the drill, and the US and South Korea will “pay dearly for their provocations”.

Some senior American officials have expressed concerns following the ICBM test, North Korea’s third.

On Sunday, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he believes it’s time for US military families in South Korea to leave the country because conflict with North Korea is getting close.

However the US government has not announced a formal decision to evacuate its citizens from South Korea.

debra.killalea@news.com.au