South Korean Army's special warfare command and its US counterpart have recently carried out a joint exercise to practice "surgical strikes" against North Korea's nuclear and missile facilities, military officials said Thursday.

    "The US Air Force's 353rd Special Operations Group conducted a combined striking exercise against an enemy's facilities with the South Korean Army's special forces brigade at a military base in Gunsan (274 kilometers south of Seoul)," a defense official said told South Korea's (Yonhap) News Agency.

    Under the "Teak Knife" drill, the two allies focused on sending their special forces into North Korea through fixed-wing aircraft in the event of a conflict on the Korean peninsula, he said. The allies have regularly carried out the Teak Knife drill since the 1990s, but it is rare to make it public. 

    The official said releasing information is mainly due to escalating tensions on the peninsula and in the Asia-Pacific region due to the North's continued nuclear and missile development programs. The United States said last Thursday any military attacks on South Korea will be defeated with an "effective and overwhelming" force amid ever-growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. 

    In the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held in Washington, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter reaffirmed the extended deterrence protection by the US of its key Asian ally, as the North continues to ramp up its provocative acts. The defense chief warned any attack will be crushed and the use of nuclear weapons will meet an overwhelming response. Source: QNA