SEOUL, April 6 (UPI) -- South Korea military has been conducting target practice against possible North Korea incursions on an island near a disputed maritime border.
The practice has involved the deployment of the Bell AH-1 Cobra: a two-blade, single-engine attack helicopter, South Korean news service Newsis reported.
The drill is part of Seoul's plan to defend against North Korean hovercraft assaults on the South, according to the military.
Two Cobra helicopters were put to use on Baengnyeong Island Tuesday, and the drill involved the firing of live ammunition.
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This is the first time South Korea has deployed Cobra helicopters in training, according to local press, although the helicopters were placed on the island following the 2010 shelling of a South Korean island and the sinking of the warship Cheonan.
The chief commander of the South Korean military's aviation operations command, Maj. Gen. Jang Kwang-hyun, said the exercise included the firing of 10 2.75-millimeter rockets and hundreds of Vulcan automatic cannon rounds, Yonhap reported.
"It was the first Cobra chopper live-fire exercise on Baengnyeong Island," Jang said. "The drill was intended to prepare against a possible sudden invasion by the North Korean military against the five front-line islands in the West Sea."
North Korea border incursions are infrequent, but some incidents have proved more dangerous than others.
Two South Korean soldiers, Kim Jeong-won and Ha Jae-heon, were seriously maimed during an August land mine incident that escalated tensions at the border.
Kim has since recovered and has been reinstated as a sergeant at Seoul's Armed Forced Cyber Command, according to local news service News 1.
Kim lost his right ankle when he stepped on a land mine while attempting to rescue his colleague.
The soldier is said to be in good health and has experienced little difficulty in his new workplace, according to Seoul's Defense Ministry.
