Military drills get under way
Source: Agencies |
July 26, 2010, Monday
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A MASSIVE United States carrier led an armada of warships in exercises off the Korean Peninsula yesterday that North Korea has vowed to block and says could escalate into nuclear war.
US military officials said the maneuvers, conducted with South Korean ships and Japanese observers, were intended to send a strong signal to North Korea.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been high since the sinking in March of a South Korean naval vessel.
The military drills, code-named "Invincible Spirit," are to run until Wednesday with about 8,000 US and South Korean troops, 20 ships and submarines and 200 aircraft. The Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered carrier USS George Washington was deployed from Japan.
"We are showing our resolve," said Captain David Lausman, the carrier's commanding officer.
North Korea has protested at the drills, threatening to retaliate with "nuclear deterrence" and "sacred war."
The George Washington, one of the biggest ships in the US Navy, is a potent symbol of American military power, with about 5,000 sailors and the capacity to carry 70 planes.
Captain Ross Myers, commander of the ship's air wing, acknowledged that the drills were meant to get North Korea's attention.
"North Korea may contend it is a provocation, but I would say the opposite," Myers said. "It is a provocation to those who don't want peace and stability. North Korea doesn't want this. They know that one of South Korea's strengths is its alliance with the US."
He said North Korea's threats were being taken seriously.
"There is a lot they can do," he said. "They have ships, they have subs, they have airplanes. They are a credible threat."
The exercises are the first in a series of US-South Korean maneuvers to be conducted in the Japan Sea off South Korea's east coast and in the Yellow Sea closer to China's shores. The drills are also the first to employ the F-22 stealth fighter in South Korea.
South Korea was closely monitoring North Korea's military but spotted no unusual activity yesterday, the Defense Ministry said.
North Korea, which denies any involvement in the sinking of the Cheonan, warned the US against holding the drills.
"Our military and people will squarely respond to the nuclear war preparation by the American imperialists and the South Korean puppet regime with our powerful nuclear deterrent," North Korea's Minju Joson newspaper said in a commentary yesterday headlined, "We also have nuclear weapons."
The country's National Defense Commission issued a similar threat on Saturday, saying North Korea "will start a retaliatory sacred war." Its Foreign Ministry said Pyongyang was considering "powerful physical measures" in response to the drills.
Though North Korea has a large conventional military and the capability to build nuclear weapons, it is not believed to have the technology needed to use nuclear devices as warheads.
In Seoul, about 150 people rallied yesterday near the US Embassy, chanting slogans such as "We are opposing the drills!" and "Scrap the South Korean-US alliance!"
US military officials said the maneuvers, conducted with South Korean ships and Japanese observers, were intended to send a strong signal to North Korea.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been high since the sinking in March of a South Korean naval vessel.
The military drills, code-named "Invincible Spirit," are to run until Wednesday with about 8,000 US and South Korean troops, 20 ships and submarines and 200 aircraft. The Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered carrier USS George Washington was deployed from Japan.
"We are showing our resolve," said Captain David Lausman, the carrier's commanding officer.
North Korea has protested at the drills, threatening to retaliate with "nuclear deterrence" and "sacred war."
The George Washington, one of the biggest ships in the US Navy, is a potent symbol of American military power, with about 5,000 sailors and the capacity to carry 70 planes.
Captain Ross Myers, commander of the ship's air wing, acknowledged that the drills were meant to get North Korea's attention.
"North Korea may contend it is a provocation, but I would say the opposite," Myers said. "It is a provocation to those who don't want peace and stability. North Korea doesn't want this. They know that one of South Korea's strengths is its alliance with the US."
He said North Korea's threats were being taken seriously.
"There is a lot they can do," he said. "They have ships, they have subs, they have airplanes. They are a credible threat."
The exercises are the first in a series of US-South Korean maneuvers to be conducted in the Japan Sea off South Korea's east coast and in the Yellow Sea closer to China's shores. The drills are also the first to employ the F-22 stealth fighter in South Korea.
South Korea was closely monitoring North Korea's military but spotted no unusual activity yesterday, the Defense Ministry said.
North Korea, which denies any involvement in the sinking of the Cheonan, warned the US against holding the drills.
"Our military and people will squarely respond to the nuclear war preparation by the American imperialists and the South Korean puppet regime with our powerful nuclear deterrent," North Korea's Minju Joson newspaper said in a commentary yesterday headlined, "We also have nuclear weapons."
The country's National Defense Commission issued a similar threat on Saturday, saying North Korea "will start a retaliatory sacred war." Its Foreign Ministry said Pyongyang was considering "powerful physical measures" in response to the drills.
Though North Korea has a large conventional military and the capability to build nuclear weapons, it is not believed to have the technology needed to use nuclear devices as warheads.
In Seoul, about 150 people rallied yesterday near the US Embassy, chanting slogans such as "We are opposing the drills!" and "Scrap the South Korean-US alliance!"
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