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SEOUL (BNS): South Korea will kick off a large-scale military drill involving its Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps next week to enhance its combat capabilities against North Korea, according to the official media.

The annual exercise, codenamed ‘Hoguk’, will see the participation of about 70,000 troops from all the four wings of the South Korean armed forces.

The nine-day long war drill will conclude on November 30, the official Yonhap news agency said.

“This year's exercise is aimed at focusing on improving interoperability among the four military branches and the integrity of their military assets,” the agency quoted an official of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) as saying.

While it was earlier being planned that the Korean Marine Corps would stage a joint landing maneouver on the western shores of the Korean Peninsula with their US counterparts, the JSC official later said that the US Marines would not be a part of the exercise.

South Korea has staged massive military drills along with the US in recent months as a show of strength against North Korea in the aftermath of the sinking of one of the South’s warships in March this year.