South Korean Army began a large-scale live-fire drill on Thursday close to the heavily armed border with the North as the presidential office said President Lee Myung-bak visited a military unit to inspect defensive readiness against Pyongyang, Reuters reported. Lee's tour of the forward unit in rugged mountain region in the east just south of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) border came after Seoul's vow to strike back at any North Korean attack. North Korea shelled a South Korean island in late November catching the South's military by surprise, killing four people.
