[Anchor]

Amid talk of deploying the U.S. military's "Multi-Domain Task Force"—aimed at China and Russia—to the Korean Peninsula, elite U.S. Marine Corps units have conducted multi-domain reconnaissance training on the peninsula for the first time. The training mobilized not only land, sea, and air domains, but also space and cyberspace. Four South Korean military and police special forces units participated one after another.

Defense reporter Kim Taehun reports.

[Reporter]

Fully armed U.S. Marines climb aboard a vessel using an improvised ladder.

Securing the perimeter, they take control of the cabins.

This was a vessel boarding, search, and seizure drill conducted on October 23 at the South Korean Coast Guard's ship simulation training facility by a reconnaissance company from the U.S. 3rd Marine Division and the South Korean Coast Guard Special Assault Team.

The U.S. military stated that this was not a routine boarding and inspection drill, but part of a multi-domain reconnaissance exercise encompassing land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace, marking the first time such training has been held on the Korean Peninsula.

This indicates the exercise is linked to the Multi-Domain Task Force, or MDTF, which the U.S. military is developing as a force to counter China.

The U.S. military plans to deploy an MDTF to the Korean Peninsula in the near future, and General Xavier Brunson, Commander of United States Forces Korea, has expressed high expectations for the MDTF's detection capabilities.

[Xavier Brunson / Commander, United States Forces Korea (October 13): "Whenever a threat presents itself, we have to be able to answer. And so sensing, particularly multi-domain sensing, is critical."]

This exercise by the 3rd Marine Division also focused on reconnaissance to bolster detection capabilities.

The reconnaissance company from the U.S. 3rd Marine Division reportedly conducted basic marksmanship training as well as small-unit combat skills and tactics drills with South Korea's Army 707th Special Mission Group and the Police Special Operations Unit for four days starting October 20.

In addition, the U.S. Marine reconnaissance company is planning to carry out a combined exercise with the South Korean Marine Corps Special Reconnaissance Unit in early November.

South Korea and the United States reportedly agreed not to release photos, videos, or specific details regarding the training with the 707th Special Mission Group, the Police Special Operations Unit, and the Marine Corps Special Reconnaissance Unit.

The U.S. military is expected to conduct a few more multi-domain drills like this before deploying the MDTF—a specialized unit targeting China—to the Korean Peninsula, drawing keen attention to how China might respond.

(Video by Yoon Hyeong | Video Editing by Oh Young-taek)