1.
GV U.S. Marines landing in helicopter
0.10

2.
SV U.S. troops run into bush
0.11

3.
CU U.S. officer on radio and U.S. troops take cover under fire (3 shots)
0.21

4.
SV U.S. gun crew positioning gun for firing
0.27

5.
SV PAN FROM Shells TO Gun and gun being loaded (2 shots)
0.43

6.
CU Officer gives fire signal and gun fires (2 shots)
0.53

7.
CU Gun crew releases shell case
1.00

8.
GV ROK Marine Corps landing by rubber dinghy by rubber dinghy on beachhead and taking cover on beach
1.26

9.
SV ROK Marines moving inland from beach
1.41

10.
LV & CU ROK marines landing from amphibious craft and running onto beachhead (2 shots)
1.46



Initials CL/1841 CL/1900



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Amid renewed talk of the possibility of war, the sound of guns and the sight of troops marking the 25th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War must be as frightening as it is reassuring to South Koreans who remember the death and destruction of those terrible year.

Since last week, United States' and South Korean forces have been engaged in a live ammunition display of military might near Pohang Bay on South Korea's east coast. The manoeuvre is called "Yellow Dragon" and is intended to remind the world that on 25 June, 1950, 100 North Korean tanks rumbled into South Korea ... triggering a three-year war in which more than one million people were killed.

Spearheaded by the United States, a United Nations force came to the assistance of South Korea and, after initial setbacks, finally took the offensive. The struggle ultimately involved the People's Democratic Republic of China as well, fighting at the side of their North Korean allies. For a time the conflict threatened to turn into a third world war.

The military demonstrations, complete with U.S. F4E fighter planes, helicopters, amphibious landings and live ammunition, is seen not only to mark the anniversary ... but to display the fighting prowess of U.S. and South would be futile.

South Korean President Park Chung he has said he believes the North may be planning new attacks. he has pointed to recently-discovered tunnels beneath the Demilitarized Zone separating the two countries as evidence of North Korean plans to infiltrate troops into the South.

There is also some apprehension in South Korea that the recent failure of U.S. efforts in South Vietnam may encourage North Korea to invade the South ... hoping that the U.S. would withdraw support there as well. A recent Harris Poll in the U.S. suggested that 65 percent of Americans would not support U.S. military involvement if war brake out again on the Korean peninsula. However, U.S. President Gerald Ford has stressed the United States' determination to live up to its mutual security agreement with South Korea.