Winter drills on either side of the demilitarized zone underscore the fragility of a potential thaw between North Korea and South Korea after Kim Jong Un raised the possibility of a summit.
In a snowy valley 150 km (93 miles) east of Seoul, South Korean commandos in white camouflage rappel 30 feet (10 meters) from a Black Hawk helicopter, detonating a bomb in an "enemy" building before wading through an ice-covered river. Annual extreme-weather drills are also being held by North Korean troops across the heavily fortified border that bisects the peninsula.
"This operation is aimed at striking essential enemy facilities," South Korean Maj. Jeong Sung-wan said at the exercises on Jan. 8, his face covered in black-and-white camouflage paint as smoke rose from the bombed building behind him. "With enough training, we will blow up any enemy facility in any given mission no matter what the cost is."